Red currant

Probably, there is not a single summer cottage where a red currant bush would not be found. Bunches of berries that play in the sun like precious stones, fragrant and very sour in taste.

In terms of nutritional and medicinal properties, currants are one of the most valuable berry crops. But since it contains a lot of acids, you should not eat it fresh.

The first berries of currants begin to be harvest at the end of June; the season lasts almost all summer. Red currants feel great on the branches, gaining juiciness and ripeness.

How to choose red currants

When buying these berries, choose whole and dry ones without the smell of fermentation. This berry can not store for a long time. It perfectly retains all its useful properties if you freeze it.

Why is red currant useful?

For the heart and metabolism

There is a lot of iron in red currants, which is necessary for blood vessels and potassium. Red curant has a beneficial effect on the heart and removes excess fluid from the body. It leads preventing the appearance of puffiness and bags under the eyes.

• It provokes the excretion of excess salts from the body.
• Acts as a choleretic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agent.
• Due to the high content of pectins, it removes cholesterol from the body.

For digestion

• The berry awakens appetite and assists in the absorption of animal protein.
• It also increases intestinal peristalsis.

Moreover, despite the wide range of useful properties, there are contraindications to the use: the juice is contraindicated in case of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, acute gastritis and hepatitis, as well as with reduced blood clotting, including hemophilia.

How to eat red currants

Firstly, people use red currants widely in gastronomy. It is a great product to prepare sauces for meat and fish dishes, make jellies, marmalades, add smoothies, and bake aromatic pies. In addition, it’s popular to prepare wonderful fruit drinks, boil compotes and jelly. You may freeze the fresh red currants to get all their useful properties from this wonderful berry, even in the cold season.

For instance, unlike black currant, the bushes are more compressed and elongated upward. Strong and thick annual shoots that grow from the bush base go to their formation and replace old, dying branches. But their progressive growth fades over the years.

Most varieties of red currant are having fairly strong growth of basal shoots. Their branches remain viable and can yield for 5-8 years. Under favorable conditions, red currants give a good harvest for 20 years.

Red currants are among the most winter-hardy berry crops, they love light and moderate watering, they are drought-resistant. It blooms with pale greenish flowers and produces red sour berries, collected in drooping clusters. The flowering time is in May. The fruits ripen in July – August. Height is about 1-2 m.

In conclusion, there are about 19 varieties of red currant. The red currant originates from Western Europe. There it has long been cultivated as a medicinal plant and only later gained recognition as a berry plant.

Useful properties of berries and juice

Berry juice quenches thirst well, reduces the temperature in febrile diseases, eliminates the feeling of nausea, suppresses vomiting, and stimulates intestinal motility. Currant juice increases the secretion of sweat and urine and causes increased excretion of salts in the urine.

The juice also has mild choleretic and laxative properties and anti-inflammatory and hemostatic effects. Berries and juice are excellent for improving appetite and strengthening the activity of the stomach and intestines. Red currants are also useful for those suffering from long-term chronic constipation. How to use: 3 tablespoons of red currant berries leave for 4 hours in 1 glass of boiling water, drain. Take 1 / h glass 4 times a day 1 / g hour before meals.

How is red currant useful for health?

With regular use, red currants will show useful properties:

• restore metabolism;
• strengthen the immune system, provide the synthesis of antibodies to fight diseases, and may help to:
• improve the functioning of the thyroid gland;
• stabilize hormonal levels;
• improve visual acuity;
• prevent the development of vitamin deficiency;
• give strength to bones;
• cleanse the body of toxins and toxins;
• remove excess fluid and relieve swelling;
• improve the functioning of the kidneys;
• preserve reproductive function;
• fill the body with energy;
• prevent the development of cancer.
• Red currant is famous as an excellent means of neutralizing radiation and removing radionuclides from the body.

Why red currants are useful for various body systems?

It will provide invaluable benefits to the cardiovascular system:

• improve the work of the myocardium;
• cleanse blood vessels;
• activate blood circulation;
• lower blood clotting, destroy cholesterol plaques, and prevent blood clots
• relieves spasms from the blood vessels that feed the brain
• increase the number of erythrocytes, increase hemoglobin and prevent anemia;
• reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis, sclerosis, stroke, and heart attack.

Firstly, the berry will help solve the problems that arise during the gastrointestinal tract’s functioning. It normalizes digestion, restores microflora, activates intestinal peristalsis, eliminates flatulence, nausea, and lazy stomach syndrome, stimulates the production of enzymes, and improves the absorption of nutrients. Secondly, the delicacy will also have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. It will calm the nerves, increase stress resistance, relieve insomnia, and activate brain activity.

Benefits for women’s and men’s health

Firstly, the berry of female beauty is the red currant’s name for its beneficial properties that help improve the appearance. Secondly, with regular use, the berry increases the resistance of the skin to the action of ultraviolet radiation. Thirdly, it improves complexion, makes the skin firm and elastic, nails strong, and hair silky.

Red currant will have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the reproductive system:

• firstly, it normalizes the menstrual cycle;
• secondly, it eliminates soreness during menstruation;
• thirdly, most importantly, it will make up for the iron deficiency in case of heavy bleeding;
• fourthly, restore hormonal levels during menopause.

For men, a delicious berry will help prevent early baldness, avoid prostatitis and maintain sexual function even in old age.

Possible harm and contraindications

Speaking about harms we should say that in some cases, red currants, in addition to benefits, can also harm the body.

The product is contraindicated in case of:

• individual intolerance
• tendency to allergies
• poor blood clotting
• hepatitis
• increased acidity of the stomach
• heartburn
• stomach cramps
• soreness in the epigastric region
• exacerbation of diseases of the digestive system (colitis, pancreatitis, gastritis, ulcers)
• infancy

Similarly, healthy people should not overeat the berry because it can cause disruptions in the functioning of the digestive system. In addition, it can provoke allergic reactions. It is enough to eat 200-300 grams of berries per day. During pregnancy and breastfeeding and children, the dose should be limited to 50 grams per day.

Indications for eating

Undoubted benefits will bring red currants for the human body with colds and flu. It will relieve inflammation, strengthen the body’s defenses, stabilize body temperature, have an expectorant effect, and increase drugs’ effectiveness.

Secondly, due to its low-calorie content, the delicacy will be useful for those wishing to lose weight. It activates the burning of fat reserves, keeps the feeling of satiety for a long time, prevents vitamin deficiency and depletion of the body, removes excess fluid and salt, and relieves puffiness.

Red currant contains very little sugar (4-10%), and its glycemic index is quite low (30 units). Therefore, it can be eaten by people with diabetes. Because the berry is recommended for people who have undergone surgery and a long-term serious illness. Also, it is good for those who are engaged in heavy physical labor.

Thanks to its properties, it will accelerate the recovery of the body. Red currants should be consumed during pregnancy; the berry will benefit the expectant mother and child’s health. As a result, it will provide the body with all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It leads to the fetus’s correct development (due to folic acid), relieving toxicosis and vitamin deficiency. Also, it eliminates anxiety and nervousness. Therefore, it is necessary to include red currants in the diet for the elderly, those who get tired quickly, suffer from constipation, increased gas production, nausea, or poor appetite. In conclusion, the berry will benefit from cystitis, gout, rheumatism, radiculitis, arthritis, arthrosis.

Pie with currants and white chocolate

Time for preparing:

1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of melted butter
• 1.5 cups of flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of red currant
• 1/2 cup of white chocolate drops
• grated white chocolate – for decoration
• red currant – for decoration

Cooking method:

1. Grease the bowl of the multicooker with vegetable oil.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt.
3. Beat eggs with sugar with a mixer, and the mass should triple in volume and become light.
4. Introduce unheated melted butter, mix, reducing the mixer speed to the minimum.
5. Add flour with baking powder and salt, stirring gently with a spatula, chocolate drops, and currants.
6. Put the dough into a multicooker saucepan, cook in the “Bake” mode for 60 minutes.
7. Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes, carefully remove from the bowl.
8. Sprinkle grated white chocolate over the surface of the pie.
9. Cool before serving and garnish with red currant sprigs, for instance.

Here’s a video on how to make a cocktail with a red currant: