Ribes aureum

Ribes aureum - spring flowers

Ribes aureum - fall berries

The best tasting native current in this area is definitely Ribes aureum, or Golden Current. They are juicy and full of sweetness, with a little tartness, and a current flavor of their own.

The bushes are most easily recognizable in the spring, when they grow lots of bright yellow flowers. The flowers are the most "golden" part of this plant. These flowers have a long tube before they open out, and the structure is slightly different botanically from most other flowers. The large spreading yellow "petals" are actually the sepals, while the real petals are small and form a small crown in the center of the flower. The flowers dry out, but remain attached to the end of the berry when it is ripe.

The berries in the fall can be either orange or black when ripe. I have found both types. As stated, the dried sepals and pistil from the flower remain attached to the end of the berry. I usually break these off, but they are not very distracting if you don't.

The leaves resemble maple leaves, and like maples, they turn a pretty shade of red in the fall. But they are smaller, and are more 3-lobed, where maples are more 5-lobed. They are also attached to a bush instead of a tree.

The berries are great raw. If you find enough they can be made into jams or dried like raisins. I am particularly fond of putting dried currents in my granola. They give it a good fruity flavor, without clashing with the texture of the rest of the granola. (Raisins are so large that you have to stop to chew each one, but dried currents are small, so you taste them without noticing when you are chewing one.)