North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[david liezen <chandos49@hotmail.com>]

I recall Warren Manhart advocating such an approach to certain apple 
cultivars in his book "Apples For The 21st Century."
Duly noted,
Dave Liezen
 
> From: hartmansfruit@msn.com
> To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 15:01:50 -0700
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Clove currant Ribes aureum
> 
> Sam and others,
> 
> Do you think the sweetness on your Crandall would improve if you thinned 
> the 
> fruit so the leaf to fruit ratio was close to what the wild currants bore? 
> On a number the fruits if the leaf to fruit ratio is greater the fruit is 
> sweeter. I am just wondering if that is a factor here.
> 
> Bob
> Western Washington
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Brungardt, Sam (MPCA)
> Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 1:10 PM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Clove currant Ribes aureum
> 
> I think we all prize wild or unusual fruits that were available where we 
> grew up more than people who did not grow up eating them.
> 
> I grew up in west-central Kansas and golden, clove, or buffalo currant (R. 
> aureum) grew in many roadside no-man's-lands, northern and eastern 
> hillsides, and in pastures. My folks packed us into the family car along 
> with buckets and a currant picking we did go. The flavor of those wild 
> currants was sweeter and had more depth than the fruit I pick off my lone 
> 'Crandall' plant here in St. Paul. Currant picking season in Kansas was 
> generally late June to mid-July. Here it is mid- to late August. Picked 
> dead ripe, the wild currants were very sweet, albeit with a rather tart 
> aftertaste. My mom made pies from them, and in my opinion warm wild currant 
> pie with vanilla ice cream is still hard to beat. She also made a lot of 
> wild currant jelly, which was one of our family's favorites. And she canned 
> the berries and juice for use during the winter. We even made wild currant 
> wine, but not as much as chokecherry wine. Some folks even used wild 
> currants to make Volga German-style
> sheet Kuchen.
> 
> These wild currants may not be as productive as the lone 'Crandall' plant I 
> have in my yard here in St. Paul (which often yields more than a gallon of 
> berries), but they were much sweeter and the flowers were more fragrant. 
> I'd like to credit this to my aging taste buds and olfactory sense, but I 
> cannot since I have confirmed this observation in Kansas within the past 
> year. My guess is the 'Crandall' plant I have is a seedling of the 
> 'Crandall' line, and I'm beginning to suspect there is considerable 
> variability among the seedlings, judging by what others have to say.
> 
> Lastly, someone asked me when I prune my 'Crandall'. I prune it in the 
> spring before it blooms, removing any wood that is more than 3 years old. 
> Buds at the base of the branches break shortly after bloom. -- Sam 
> Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA hardiness zone 4b).
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org 
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Richard Moyer
> Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 1:13 PM
> To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Clove currant Ribes aureum
> 
> Good to see this fruit discussed. Lee Reich has excellent info on it,
> in his "Uncommon Fruits" books.
> For the cultivar 'Crandall', see this publication, your library can
> get it through interlibrary loan:
> Hummer, K. E. and S. Pluta (1996). Surprise: It's Crandall. Fruit
> Varieties Journal 50(2): 74-75
> Stan Pluta is a currant researcher from Poland, who spent a sabbatical
> evaluating the black currant collection at the Corvallis NCGR.
> 'Crandall' is one of the short list he took back to Poland, for future
> breeding work.
> 
> In my experience, 'Crandall' has been self fertile.
> 
> Note that some also list clove currant as Ribes odoratum, reflecting
> the flower scent, over its color. If I remember correctly the species
> distinction is artificial, according the 'lumpers' among the
> botanists, as the two are very similar to identical, separated by the
> Rocky Mountains.
> 
> Search NAFEX list archives for lengthy discussions about the fruit
> quality. It's one that improves greatly with cooking, so judging it
> raw (even when fully ripe) puts many off. Some (my family included)
> consider it among our best jams. It has some of the same pigments
> (anthocyanins) and flavors as Euro black currants, but is also
> distinct in lab analyses of flavor/aroma profiles.
> 
> And from the Corvallis NCGR: the farm crew threatened new hires if
> they do something boneheaded, the punishment would be eating black
> currants raw. This threat was purported to keep them in line.
> 
> Richard Moyer
> SW VA Mulberries ripe
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