Food Alphabet
Blackcurrant leaves
A fresh blackcurrant leaf has jagged edges, it is dull, dark green, smooth on top, and slightly fluffy on the bottom. During the period of leaf fall, vitamin C in the leaves of currants contains as much as in fruits.
Currant leaves have a strong aroma, so they are an indispensable component in the preparation of home preservatives and marinades and are used as a spice when salting cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms and cabbage (due to the content of phytoncides, the leaves protect vegetables from spoilage and preserve their vitamin value).
Separately preserved black currant leaves are added to salads, meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Some people also like to add fresh leaves to their dishes. For example, they are used to prepare dietary sugar-reducing salads, in addition, they are put in homemade kvass.
For the purpose of long-term storage with subsequent culinary use, currant leaves are collected after the fruit is harvested (from the beginning of flowering of the plant to leaf fall) from the middle of the branches, dried in a well-ventilated room or in the shade in the air, and then used for brewing tea and flavoring sauces.
For medicinal purposes, the leaves are harvested earlier – in May-June.
In folk medicine, blackcurrant leaves are often included in vitamin supplements along with raspberry leaves, lingonberries and rosehip fruits.
