North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lee Reich <garden@leereich.com>]

I think if you let clove currant get thoroughly ripe, you might enjoy it. I really like the fruit. Then again, Crandall is not a clone, so there is some variation. As I stated in my book Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden....

            The most widely grown clove currant was found in the wild by R. W. Crandall of Newton, Kansas, in 1888. ‘Crandall’, as it was called, had the virtue of bearing tasty fruits up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Unfortunately, many plants sold as ‘Crandall’ were seedlings, so plants were variable, leading some writers to report the flavor as good, others to report “tough skin, unpleasant flavor” (fruits on my plants have tender skins and a very nice flavor). In 1867, ‘Deseret’ was selected. This clove currant cultivar was productive and bore large, dark fruits, “pleasant and slightly tart.” ‘Jelly’, another cultivar, had a tough skin, but an “agreeable” taste, and ‘Vermillion’, ‘Golden Prolific’, and ‘Amber’ evidently were cultivars with brightly colored fruits.

Lee Reich, PhD

http://leereich.com/

Books by Lee Reich:

The Pruning Book

Weedless Gardening

Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden

A Northeast Gardener's Year

On Aug 10, 2008, at 12:25 PM, William C. Garthright wrote:

I tasted some that were pretty good (kind of sweet grape flavor) 

before at Richard Moyer's place.  Then I got some myself and I was 

disappointed in the flavor. I had one from different source that 

wasn't half bad, but that one died.  I guess the they vary greatly and 

may be nurseries propagate them from seed?

Well, the 'Crandall' variety is not supposed to be propagated from seed, 

though I bought one plant from a different nursery, and it seems a bit 

different. I've got one seedling clove currant, though, and the berries 

are MUCH smaller (though they still tasted lousy).

It's funny how some Crandall plants start ripening at least 6 weeks 

before others do. I agree the staggered ripening is a pain.

No way to know if you're tasting the same plant / flavor  as we have. 

I certainly do enjoy eating them fresh, but wait till they are quite ripe.

Yes, they're incredibly sour when not completely ripe, but I never ate 

one I liked, and I kept trying all season. They lose that sour taste, 

but they never seem to develop any kind of sweet taste. I can taste the 

cloves (which I'd thought was only in the strongly-scented flowers), but 

not much else. I really can't describe it, but I was just amazed to find 

they were so bad.

I enjoy the flavor fresh much more than that of black currants,

Well, you've convinced me never to plant black currants, anyway. Heh, heh.

Maybe I'll learn to enjoy clove currants, eventually. But I don't think 

I'll bother netting them until then! And considering how they ripen - 

one at a time - I can't see picking them for juice. But we'll see.

Thanks for the comments.

Bill

Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

-- 

I don't agree with those who think that the conflict is simply between 

two religions, namely Christianity and Islam. ... To me, the key 

conflict is between irrational blind faith and rational, logical minds. 

- Taslima Nasri

_______________________________________________

nafex mailing list 

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.

This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web sites.

Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have permission!

**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**

Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.

No exceptions.  

----

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options):

http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.

TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!

Please do not send binary files.

Use plain text ONLY in emails!

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/