Zante currants are a particular type of raisins made from black corinth grapes.

Raisins are just grapes that have been dried and are used for baking.

Contrary to what you may think, zante currants are not related to the black currants which are berries used to make juices or jams.

So what is the difference between zante currants and black currant?

Blackcurrants(Ribes nigrum) is a shrub that produces fresh edible berries while zante currants refer to a type of raisin made from drying black Corinth grapes(Vitis vinifera). Also, black currant berries have a smooth surface but zante currants are wrinkly.

They both belong to different classes of plants and are used differently; Zante currants for baking and blackcurrant berries for juices or jams.

In some places, zante currants are referred to as just currants, blackcurrants too, even though they are both unrelated.

There are other plants known as currants too which are also not related such as currant tomatoes, but in this post we are going discuss the differences between zante currants and blackcurrants.

Zante currant description

Zante currants are made from grapes. (Vitis viniferan) They are raisins produced by drying grapes, and they have a wrinkly surface.

Zante currants are also known as Corinth raisins, and they are used in baking fruit cakes and other delicious baked foods.

They add a lot of sweet flavor to baked products, and they can also be package and eaten raw,

Botanically, grapes are berries.

Zante currants are made from a cultivar of small seedless grape known as black Corinth grapes.

The black Corinth is a popular variety of grape that is grown commonly for the production of raisins and used in baking.

They are one of the oldest raisins known and are smaller size compared to other grapes varieties.

The black Corinth grapes are round in shape and red black color in color. Their raisins are also red black in color.

Their berries grow in clusters of up to hundreds and on climbing vines

The leaves of the black Corinth are heart shaped and oblong. These grapes have strong flavors and they are often marketed under the name champagne raisins.

Blackcurrants description

You can find blackcurrant berries (Ribes nigrum) being used for making jams, jellies and fruit juices

The plants is related to the white currant, red currant and also gooseberries.

Their berries of grow in clusters on shrubs regions of up to 3 to 5 feet, and they can be found in temperate regions. These plants are grown mostly in Europe.

A cluster contains about 12 to 20 dark glossy berries with a diameter of about one 1/3 inches

Blackcurrants are firm spherical with smooth skin and also has seeds.

The berries are black to dark blue colour and are highly acidic with a ph of about 2.8 to 3.5.

They are rich in several nutrients and antioxidants. One peculiar characteristic of these berries are their exceptionally high vitamin c content

The leaves and buds of their shrubs are sometimes used to make medicinal herbs

Differences between zante currant and blackcurrant

Production

Zante currants are gotten from black corinth grapes which are dried to produce raisins, blackcurrant berries are obtained fresh from the shrubs of ribes nigrum.

Vitamin C

Blackcurrants are significant source of vitamin C, Zante currants have smaller amounts of vitamin C.

Seeds

Black currants have seeds in them, while the black corinth, which is the grapes that zante currants are made from do not have seed in them.

Color

Zante currants are reddish back in color while blackcurrants are black to dark blue in color.

Classification

Zante currants are made from grapes(vitis viniferant) while blackcurrant berries are gotten from the ribes nigrum plant.

Clusters

Blackcurrant berries are arranged in clusters of 8 to 12 on their plants while the black Corinth have hundreds of grapes in a cluster.

Plants

The grapes of zante currants grow on climbing vines that requires stakes or fences for support, blackcurrant berries grow on shrubs, requiring no support to grow.

Uses

Zante currants are used in baking fruit cakes, or they can be eaten together with other dried fruits. Blackcurrants might be used to flavor jams and jellies or eaten fresh from their shrubs.

Read also; How are dates different from honey?

In conclusion

Zante currants are from a different class of plants with different properties, and it is used in a different way from blackcurrant.

Blackcurrant berries are usually processed into jams, jellies or fruit juices. Zante currants are a wrinkly product made from drying Corinth grapes, and they are used in baking.