i agree! most don’t. 
from what I’ve read, consort is considered inferior to the newer varieties esp. for fresh eating but for jam it is the best! it is also a very vigorous disease free, early producing variety , thats is very cold hardy. mine have been thru -40f often over the last 7 years with no damage. birds don’t even touch them here. I’ve never had to spray either. you ever have issues w / powdery mildew in your humid summers? it can be very muggy some summers here also but i haven’t seen it yet. my comfrey right next to it gets PM every summer.
I planted a Consort in 2015. I got a small taste of a few fresh berries last summer. In my notes I see that I wrote it tasted like cat pee and pine pitch, although I don’t think I have ever actually tasted either, just smelled them. Maybe this summer I will get enough to try the jam everyone raves about.
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Yeah I can’t enjoy them fresh. Also let the berries become soft, not hard black balls. They need to soften up a touch. Like most fruit it is often picked early. Milder types like Crandall turn red, then black. They are a lot easier to eat fresh, but to me best flavor is processed.
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like drew said. let them hang till they’re almost soft. birds and bugs i think, don’t like the smell of the bush so maybe thats why they don’t touch them. even the cat won’t come near me when I’m harvesting them! the birds sure go for my crandalls tho. 1st time I’ve had to net a currant bush. completely different taste. more grape like. putting in another from a different nursery this time just to see the difference. my crandall is only 2nd leaf but is already becoming a beautiful plant. it has smaller blue/ green leaves and flowers so thick the bush turns yellow during bloom and smells spicy like cloves. have some golden i got from 2 sources but probably going to pull those as they are wpbr magnets and probably will never produce much for me here.
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That’s exactly how all black currant leaves smell when you rub them. Once sugar is added to the berries its a different story. Also Prince Consort is a fabulous tasting berry. The older the variety (to me) the taste is better. I would just keep an eye on WPR resistance.
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I have a couple belaruskas on order. I hope I really do like that jam. How are black currants in upside-down cake, another favorite at our house?
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my golden currants are right next to consort and the goldens were full of WPBR last summer. my consorts and crandall were clean. pulling the goldens and replacing with another crandall.
never tried it but you can substitute it for other fruit in recipes. i plan to try some next season as my other currants become more productive. i found a freezer jam recipe w/ splenda that is awesome! no need to cook. just mash w/ a potato masher add pectin and jar. very simple and doesn’t overly sweeten them. other than as a jam i also use as a side w/ pork , chicken or venison. mixed with greek yogurt for breakfast, its awesome! black currants are one of the most nutritional berry out there. when i get enough, I’m going to juice them, then mix with concord grape juice and a few squeezes of lemon.
I make a syrup and add water, really good, add lemon and other flavors too. You could use just splenda for the syrup. Over ice cream wow! If you feel it’s too strong a flavor I found mixing with other berries mellows the taste. Blackberries or raspberries blend well with black currants. I discovered it by only having a few of each so threw them together for a mixed syrup. What was surprising to me is my wife loves the black currants. I really thought she would not like them.
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For me growing currants in zone 7a excessive heat and summer humidity are problems, not winter cold.
First couple of years everything was just fine with currants. But this summer was especially wet. To my surprise I found some pests on black currants and there was some fungus (probably not powdery mildew). I sprayed and got rid of pests and disease, but it was a bit late. Just didn’t expect anything on a currant and didn’t pay enough attention.
I liked Minaj Smyriou variety very much. Bought it at Raintree nursery. They have many varieties.
Regarding taste, I’m from Russia and used to eat black currant with a strong taste. When I can restrict myself from eating everything at once, we mix fresh currants with sugar and result is heavenly.
By the way, we just created currant group on Facebook Facebook Groups
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@moose71, isn’t Crandall Golden Currant itself?
I’m interested in obtaining Russian/Ukrainian varieties of Golden Currant, supposedly there are many.
they are closely related. crandall is Ribes odoratum is from the midwest. goldens are Ribes aureum from the west. i also have a Ribes americium thats a native eastern variety from oikios.
ill keep that in mind although i like BC strait up !
i think golden currants are native to western north america.
i would love to get ahold of modern russian black currant cultivars!
Yes that is true, but many dispute it and feel Crandall, is a sub species. Actually Crandall is a cultivar, and does not represent the species.as a whole. Just the best performing of many examples and cultivated. Most R. odaratum species are poor producers. Crandall is not.
The variety Ribes aureum var. villosum is sometimes considered a full species, Ribes odoratum
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I’ve heard that also.
Yes, golden currant (Ribes aureun / odoratum) is native to North America, but somehow cultivars are developed much more actively in Ukraine…
There are many Russian/Ukrainian cultivars of black currant (Ribes nigrum) too, but they are generally available in the US - unlike golden currant cultivars.
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Yeah I have never seen them! I’m growing some golden from seed, or trying. See what happens come spring! I’m happy with Crandall, awesome plant! I heard good things about the new Netherlands cultivar Risager. Resistant to rust, mildew, and leaf spot. And the flavor and production is supposed to be good. I will be buying one this year. I have high hopes! The reds from the Netherlands are the best! Rovada is from the Netherlands. Here is Lee Reich’s Rovada grown into a cordon. I ditched my other reds as Rovada has bigger berries longer strings of berries and super easy harvest. I don’t need any others. I tore down my two cordons like this to redo them with Rovada.
Well one cordon i will be doing with Primus White as it has the longest strains of berries I ever saw on any currant. From my plant in a root pouch. This is one branch.Originates from Slovakia. taste is not great but it is for ornamental.purposes The pinks are good, tart but sweet, not bad for fresh eating.
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So beautiful!
I’m still trying to grow red and white currants, but it looks like Maryland’s climate is not for them. Too hot.