In case you weren't aware, most of the black sweets (candies) in the UK are actually blackcurrant flavoured, instead of grape like they are in the US

We had several bushes of these in our yard growing up, I never realised these these would be considered 'exotic' in the USA. Great video!

love to learn about currant events

I just found this channel and, as a deaf person, I'm greatly appreciative that you caption all the videos! Just subscribed :)

I served in Mongolia with the Peace Corps, where currants, along with a whole range of other unfamiliar berries, rule the day. Black currants were my favorite, and not being able to find them upon returning to the States has been the greatest tragedy of my adult life. Thanks for this video! Let me know if you have any good currant sources that ship to New Mexico!

I'm from Malaysia and Ribena used to be a staple for us. I grew up drinking a glass of warm Ribena every day after school. At birthday parties the moms would make iced Ribena for the kids. Even now among those of us who grew up in the 80-90's we use the term 'kanak-kanak Ribena' (Ribena kids) to describe happy-go-lucky, blissfully naive kids lmao.

I grew up in Ukraine, had no idea this berry is so rare in the US! It’s very very common here, and a lot of people are impartial to it as it has quite an acidic / sour taste, but that’s just a matter of preference. We had quite a few bushes in the garden and I never liked those berries as a kid 🙃

Greetings from the alternative berryverse of Sweden! 2 fun facts: 1) first thing we we were given to eat or drink at hospital when my wife gave birth, a pitcher of ice water with a cup of black current cordial. 2) while technically a subset of fruits, berries are so varied and plentiful here (many are untranslatable since they don't exist in the Anglophone world) they are usually called out specifically and separately from other fruits by nutritional guides. As in, "don't forget to eat fruits, berries and vegetables". 🫐

Growing up in the US to British parents, my mom would always complain about the lack of availability when she wanted black currants for cooking or jam making (especially larger amounts), although luckily I think they have become more popular / widespread over the past few years. Never knew they were banned, but explains a lot! Thanks for the informative video :)

Wow, as a Polish person I always wondered why there were no porzeczki in the US. I could only find them imported to the Polish and Russian stores.

Interesting note: In the early 1900s the logging industry was replacing clear cuts with a LOT (almost exclusively) of pine trees. The lack of diversity created opportunities for disease - nature's way of correcting an imbalance. Nature is still doing her thing - in Oregon's Malheur forest, for example, an infestation of honey fungus measuring MILES across is steadily munching its way through the pine monoculture that the logging industry planted.

American here! I first heard of blackcurrant when I first started looking into the city I'm currently studying in: Dijon, France. Here, the local specialty drink is called kir, and it's a sweet, refreshing mix of white wine and crème de cassis (blackcurrant cream)! I plan on shipping a bottle of crème de cassis back to the US so I can make my American friends try this wonderful drink :)

I live in europe and my family has always had quite a few black currant bushes in the back yard and at least one gooseberry bush. Same goes for my grandparents. Like black currant and gooseberry bushes are a must alongside raspberry bushes where I’m from. I was really baffled to hear that those berries are pretty much non-existent in the US. Btw I, personally, really dont like black currant

German here; we literally have black, white and red currants growing in our garden (usually so much every year, that our family freezes a whole lot of them to make jam later), so it's kinda interesting that they aren't that common in the US

I never thought of blackcurrants as exotic, It didn't even cross my mind that these were a novelty thing in the US, given that I get to enjoy freshly made blackcurrant juice from my grandma's garden every summer. Here in Finland, they're easy to grow and many people with gardens have them and other berry bushes. 😃🇫🇮

I spent some time living and working in Ukraine. I first encountered black currant while my host family and I went back and fourth on trying to translate the Ukrainian word for the berry into English. Google translate kept coming up with “black currant” and I thought it must be incorrect since I had no idea what that was. Soon enough, I was educated on the berry’s existence and spend my entire time in Ukraine consuming black currant everything. I’m stuck searching for the berry everywhere I go like the rest of the black current enlightened US citizens.

Being brought up in Britain in the 1960s Ribena was the most desired cordial for drinks and when I first had an "american style no bake cheesecake" it came with a blackcurrant fruit topping My parents grew blackcurrants and gooseberries in the back garden and made jam regularly until my father became too old to tend the plants. So blackcurrants were part of everyday life for me. Here in Germany where I now live schwarze Johannisbeeren are also a staple fruit in frozen mixed berries in cordial form and on cakes. So when I had a cold I automatically reached for the blackcurrant cordial made with hot water Not sure it is very healthy but it is reassuring to me.

Started gardening at a young age in the PNW & one day ended up meeting a sweet, sweet older Russian lady who gave me several of her back currant trimmings to try and plant. Never realized how much I lucked out by personally being able to grow up alongside those shrubs & eat from that effort. Ended up moving out & one day when visiting my parents, I found out my mother had pulled up the bushes. Glad to at least have had my childhood years spent eating those delicious berries!

You’ll find black currant is very common in New York, it’s a favorite flavor of Eastern Europeans, and you’ll often find juice or other black currant products because of our high concentration

British person here: I wonder if there’s a misunderstanding here: “currants” and “blackcurrants” are completely different things. “currant cookies” means cookies with dried grapes in them. Currants are one of the three main types of dried grape you’d find in the supermarket: raisins, sultanas and currants. Seems like blackcurrant scones do exist but I’ve never heard of them. Scones with raisins or currants are pretty common.

Such an interesting story for us living in Europe. It makes me wonder, what are the other things we consider common but that are not in the US and vice versa. The only thing I was missing in your video is a deeper insight in the reasons, why this is a problem in America and nobody abroad has ever heard of it... I mean maybe interview some botanist (kinda Vox-like approach I guess)? I'm not a one, but I did study biology for teaching purposes and therefore I know a thing or two. This phenomenon is actually quite common in the world of parasitic fungi. Switching between hosts (different species of plants) is exactly what rusts (group of fungi) do during their life-cycle. We in Europe - or at least in the Czech republic - have similar problem with a rust switching between pear-tree and juniperus causing the pear to die. But it definitely isn't such a big deal as you have or had with white pine. One last "fun fact" - we don't have a problem with black currant here, we have a problem with white pine. It's not native to Europe and it is becoming sort of an invasive species, cause it has no natural enemy, it kills bushes and little trees on the forrest floor and it spreads easily. We started to eradicate white pine at least in the Natural Parks. And all of that only because some aristocrats in the 19th century thought that this tree looks good and that it would be a cool idea to have this thing standing in front of the castle :)

I live in the UK, Ribena is great! I recommend trying it with hot water, works a treat when you're feeling unwell. Also, Robinson's makes Apple and Black currant squash which I saw in the shop in your video, that's basically the default squash in the UK. Can't go wrong with it.

grew up on an island off the coast of NA where we had currants. I remember being really confused when I moved to the mainland and no one knew what they were. The first place I’ve seen them being used fresh is at vineyards near me where they imported them to dredge up older styles of berry wine making and using them as a stabilizer.

It's interesting to hear that kind of information while living in the northern part of Russia! On the countryside my granny does grow a lot of berrys, black and red currants included. Although our north side of the country doesn't have that kind of soft climate like in our southern parts, but we still have a lot of unique plants like cloudberry! They are pretty rare and only can be found in forest. Maybe you can make a video on them and tell people about our most finest berrys of Arkhangelsk, Russia!

Living in Siberia, it is hard to imagine having no currants or gooseberries! And there are other kinds of berries too, like honeyberry or seaberry, which I believe are not so common in the US as well, but provide us with vitamin C all year round.

I've always lived in the US, but my mom was born in England and spent much of her early childhood there. Partly due to this, I feel a little British - culturally speaking - and love the taste of blackcurrants! Not that I've ever had fresh blackcurrants. But I've often had candies and jellies, and those are absolutely fantastic.

This is the third video I’ve watched by you and I must say, I love how smooth and concise you are with topics that other content creators would turn into a 20-30 minute video. Every video feels like I’m just having a friend chat with me about something they’re really interested in, rather than a lecture. You’ve definitely earned my sub!

I really have been enjoying your videos, just a bit of information presented in a fun and relaxing way.

Wow, this is very strange for me, I had no idea they were banned in the US. Growing up we always had black currants in our garden, and while it was nice, I always thought of black currants as lesser than strawberries and raspberries

I’m Canadian, but I always grew up with Ribena. As a child my grandparents (who lived in the uk previously) would give me warm Ribena and I always loved it, so I’m always surprised when someone doesn’t know what it is.

I’ve been a fan of your videos for a long time; I’m usually a silent lurker. I really enjoy your intimate and personal nature in exploring these curious strings that unravel the world around us. At the end of this video you do this surprised chuckle when you say you love this berry and I know that feeling. I recently learned to ride a unicycle; something I’ve wanted to try for a long time. When I see it sitting in the corner like an awkward teenager at prom I get that feeling. Thanks for these great videos!

Thank you for keeping us up to date on currant events.

Ribena is such a classic in New Zealand too. One time school children got them fined after their chemistry class accidentally proved they were lying about the nutritional content. It was the obvious place to learn about detecting Vitamin C but couldn't find any.

Growing up in Norway with a Finnish mother, homemade blackcurrant juice was something I consumed a lot as a child, and still enjoy to this day. We drink it cold in summer, hot in winter. Everyone I have visited in Nordic countries, who owns a house with a garden, has a blackcurrant bush. It's very interesting to hear, how events like mentioned in this video, can affect what we consume and see as common or exotic food.

Really enjoy your posts, and love the glimpses of RVA

Your videos are amazing! Eversince I found your personal channel you have been dominating my KZfaq Recommended

I'm from India and black currant is one of the most common ice-cream flavours here. Watching this made me feel strange but also makes me think how many awesome fruits or berries I may be missing but don't know about.

4:35 You're supposed to pour the Ribena in first, then the water, so you don't have to mix it in as much

So happy I found your channel!!

I realized a few seconds in that you were filming at Libby Hill, and had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't just imagining it, but Proper Pie popping up on screen for a second confirmed it for sure! I love that place, I usually get a savory and a slice of sweet pie and take them to Libby Hill for a little picnic. I might have to go soon to try that blackcurrant pie!

This is crazy! We literally have these in the garden. I'm from Slovakia and they're quite common here. Well, at least in people's gardens who plant fruits. You won't usually find them in the store. They're also usually planted together with red currants, which I find a bit less bitter and more acidic. Also sometimes with gooseberries, which are super interesting tasting I think. Wonderful videos by the way, keep them coming! :)

After living in the UK for around 4 years, I ended up falling in love with this alternate "Berryverse." Probably one of the things I was surprised to like the most - a Guinness Black Currant!

Great video as always!

They are the latest addition to my garden. Next year will hopefully be the first harvest 🤞. But I've been growing the red and golden ones for some years and they're very good too. Looking forward to the next harvest.

How does this channel only have 1k subscribers?

I'm from Poland and black currants is one of my favourite fruit. I plant it by my self in my garden. It's good to know about that fungus :D

Found your channel recently and so far loved each wideo I saw :) thank you

Commenting for the algo and also for your amazing video styles!

Growing up in Minnesota, my grandparent's farm had black currant and gooseberry bushes, so I had them all the time as snacks, jams or in baked goods. Getting older, I always wondered why I could never find these in stores, and almost convinced myself they were something else and my family just had a weird name for them.

Americans: OMG there’s black current juice British people: OMG there such a thing as grape juice

Great video. I especially like the fact that you feature the Landhausplatz in Innsbruck at 0:38😉 Greetings from Austria

I enjoyed watching you discover blackcurrants and ribena. Like the novelty of it for you was fun to watch. I grew up with blackcurrant flavoured everything here in Australia. It was always the best but sometimes you would have the risk that a black lolly was licorice/aniseed instead.

I once had both juniper trees and Saskatoon berry trees in my backyard a few years ago. This is another bad combination. A fungus, cedar-apple rust, established itself and was impossible to eradicate. Once I moved the 2 Saskatoon berry trees at the very far end of my yard, the disease just sent away and both groups of trees healed. But it was hard work, having to move trees.

My dad grows a few bushes of Gooseberries, Red currant and Black currants in his back yard. The black are way too bitter to be edible raw. The red on the other hand are great! The last fruit most Americans are missing are the poorly named (in English) 'wild strawberries". Terrible name! They are a naturally small strawberry. Very different taste. A handful of those is worth a basket of the big domesticated(?) strawberries.

Wow idubbbz you really changed your life around now, loving the new look!

My Polish grandfather used to grow black and red currants in his backyard here in NJ. My absolutely favorite jam/preserve! Definitely recommend it in a spread or in paczki! 😁

I was just looking at the web site of the Ontario department of agriculture. Black currants and gooseberries can be grown in that province. So apparently Canada has not needed to take similar action.

Omg, I adore black currant! I only ever had them dried or as juice until last year, after moving from Texas to Washington state. Discovered there's a lot of commercial cultivation up here in the PNW, bc it's not banned AND the climate is ideal, but I don't think much of the resulting produce actually leaves the region, bc I sure never saw any show up in grocery stores in Houston. Only ever had access to the imported shelf-stable products. No idea if they're still banned in Texas, but it doesn't matter bc nearly the entire currant/gooseberry family is not heat tolerant and doesn't grow well in most of the state. Now I'm growing my own in pots, though it'll be a year or two before they're established enough that I can let them set fruit instead of removing flowers before the plants start pouring in energy that would be better spent getting big enough for a reasonable harvest in the future. I'm a hobby baker who loves using homemade jam in my recipes, so I'm considering adding redcurrant and golden currant to my collection of tasty potted plants this coming spring. But black currant is my fave of the Ribes species I've had the opportunity to taste thus far!

We get Starburst candy shipped from the UK. The black currant is in the pack there, eliminating grape. It is amazing. As is Proper Pie Co. in Richmond!!! Cool seeing a wonderful local business!

I approve of your mug choice. Got a pair of those myself. Keeps drinks cool forever!

I got a book reminder and a recommendation for a new berry. Thank you. But I must admit that the huckleberry will always own my heart.

I remember having black currant wine and liquor, and they were fantastic. The closest I could suggest for an similar flavor in the US might be elderberry or Concord grape. Really enjoy your videos, Phil!

I didn't know these were banned anywhere! My grandparents had blackcurrant, ribes and gooseberry bushes in their garden and once I can, I'll definitely plant those in my own garden as well. I have fond childhood memories of making jam out of them or just picking some and eating them straight.

Being that my father's British, I grew up with Ribena. It was always exciting to see my friends reaction after having tried it for the first time. Such a great flavor!

My Oma in Germany had a large garden where she grew lots of fruits including blackberries, red currants and gooseberries. I loved the tartness of the red currants. We tried to grow them in our backyard in upstate NY with limited success.

Ribena!!! That’s the best!!! I love black currants!!! They or anything flavored with them has been so hard to find...but I’m seeing them more...

I have black currants growing in my garden, next to a hedge of red currants, gooseberries and a bunch of rhubarb. In the old days, you could find those in almost every vegetable gardens here in Belgium. You can even find black currant flavoured Fanta (Fanta Cassis) in the Netherlands.

When I studied in Wales, they had black current scones at this little coffee shop in Chester that I stopped in a couple times. And in Wrexham where I stayed, down the street from Glyndwr University there was a bar that gave you a Guinness with a shot of Black Currant juice in it. I think it's purple Irish or something. Now every so often I gotta chase that dragon here in the US.

we grow these and red currants. Ive been making mead for myself out of these for almost 10 years now. They are fantastic and make one heck of a spiced xmas mead. Pink Currants are on the list to plant this spring. Apparently these are superior for mead making........we shall find out :) 🍻🍻

You're Videos are incredibly fascinating. Also I fucking love Proper Pie Co. good ol church hill!

When I saw the picture, I thought you were going to talk about saskatoon berries! Delicious little goobers. Very interesting video though! Enjoyed it.

greetings from germany, the red ones are really good to, and if you wanna try a super unique berry, try getting your hands on things made of Sanddorn its a bush i think that only grows in places near the baltic and northern sea and there are candies and ice of it, it tastes really unique

My Caribbean mother always has to hunt for them here to make currant rolls. It is possible to find them but it’s a chore. Finding pre packaged black currant flavored things isn’t that hard and they sell Ribena in the grocery store but dried currants are super hard to come by.

“Getting into hot take land” is the reason why Phil has a place in our hearts and in the minds of those not Phil-doctrinaited.

They're really great. I get them dried in the bulk section of my co op for salads 🤗🥙

I feel the same way about American grape flavoured sodas and grape juices. I think it just goes to show variety is the spice of life.

In Germany blackcurrant cake is so widespread - so many bakeries have it and it is delicious. Also making juices out of it is amazing. And you have the blackcurrant jelly in every supermarket.

Good to see you report on currant affairs

I'm glad to see this I was in an ldr with a girl from Scotland who said this was her favorite flavor and always wanted to know more about wtf she was talking about

If you want to grow them, you can find them in the US. I think the first current bush I ever bought was a red currant bush from HomeDepo. I think e-bay would most likely be the best place to look. You may have to wait until the spring.

In Canada they're relatively common in dried form (like raisins). My grandma always used them when making butter tarts. However, I'm not sure I've ever had them fresh

Try hot 'bena - get some ribena in a mug, pour on boiling water, drink when you fancy. Winter treat. Yum. Also ribena ice cubes next level good on a hot day - Make up some strong 'bena with water in your ice cube tray, freeze then when they're ready, pop out one of those little delights to crunch and suck on on a hot day. Or put them in a glass of 'bena. Yes, I'm sure you could make ice lollies out of them too but we didn't have anything g as fancy as that growing up so ice cubes have a special place in my heart (and freezer). Great video, glad to have stumbled across your channel.

The black currant bushes in our yard has been giving berries for almost 40 years now, but I never really liked the taste of them and most berries never got picked. But last summer I did pick some black currants that had grown in a very sun lit spot and they were actually really sweet and quite tasty.

ive gone to England many times, and one of my favorite things about going there is the back current things there, its just amazing.

Severely underrated channel

I have always wondered about this! I can't imagine life without ribena, its a delicious (and sugary lol) treat. I always I mix it with lemonade in the summer. I feel so sad that americans don't get to try this.

I live in Brazil and it's also a rare berry here. We call it Groselha Preta and they are very expensive to buy. The regular Groselha (gooseberry) on the other hand is very common, specially it's syrup.

I learned of Black Currents when my family lived in Germany and I was in High School. Easily my favorite berry and flavor, whenever I had the option I chose it. The grown up grape analogy is very correct in my experience.

If you've eaten those Royal Danish butter cookies (the ones with the iconic tin used for sewing supplies) there's a chance you've had a black currant cookie. Though it seems that it was replaced by a different flavor in certain markets (and their website doesn't mention a black currant flavor). But I had them again in China just last year and they had the black currant cookie. I had always thought they were dried blueberry or raisins.

Ribena made up with boiled water (like tea) is excewllent in winter or if you're feeling sick. Extremely comforting.

I first tried them when traveling in Europe and the UK. A couple of years ago I happened across a black current plant in a nursery, so I bought it and added it to my berry & herb garden. At the moment my berry garden has black current, blueberries, honey berries, aronia berries, gooseberries, and strawberries. I have raspberries on the edges of my vegetable garden too. I’ve also got a lingonberry plant, but it’s been overshadowed by my vigorously growing gooseberry plant. I’d transfer it, but the gooseberry thorns have thus far dissuaded me.

I grew up in Europe, and because they are impossible to find in the US stores or farmers' markets my parents have them in their backyard. It's always fun to eat in the summer, along with red currants and gooseberries. My kids like them too. Grandma (my mom) used to make jams, but no one wanted to pick them off the bush so, it's just for eating fresh.

I grew up near Washington DC and ate a lot of Black Currant jams growing up. Black currant candies were common also.

Since it's winter - Try warm Ribena with orange and ginger slices. It's really good!

My parents used to have a garden when I was a child we had black currant shrubs, they where my favorite to eat right from the bush, they are amazing!

Central France has the tradition of the Kir cassis/royal, which is a cocktail of white wine and blackcurrant creme, it's really good.

i live in hong kong and we have ribena juice boxes and bottles here in supermarkets and man, they are so good

I grew up in rural Newfoundland where gooseberries and currants still grew wild and were not banned. They make great jams.

Super interesting, I grew up in Morrisburg Ontario, just on the border of the U.S. and Canada (the St. Laurence river). and my mother grew black currants in our back yard, and would make black currant jam every summer. No idea they were banned in the U.S.

If you not feeling well you should try blackcurrant drink warmed up and just take small sips - so relaxing. Or even better a blackcurrant/pear/apple crumble either with hot custard or vanilla ice cream - YUM!!