Blackcurrant Giant Boskoop - Ribes nigrum

The Boskoop Giant Blackcurrant is an early variety, with berries harvested from early July. It is a hardy and vigorous bush, resistant to powdery mildew, moderately productive, producing large fruits with a tangy flavour, appreciated for their fragrance when fully ripe. Its late flowering makes it a good pollinator for the 'Noir de Bourgogne' variety. Its foliage is highly aromatic when crushed. Easy to grow in heavy, moist, deep soil, in non-scorching sun, protected from spring frosts.

Ribes nigrum belongs to the Grossulariaceae family. It is a deciduous bush related to currants, native to regions ranging from the Pyrenees to central Asia. The blackcurrant naturally grows in cool woods in northeastern Europe. It has been cultivated since the 16th century.

The 'Boskoop Giant' cultivar is an old self-fertile Dutch variety. It forms a vigorous bush with upright tufted growth, reaching a height of 1.50m (5ft) with a spread of 1m (3ft). The plant reaches maturity in three years. The leaves, deciduous, are large, flat, with three to five lobes with toothed edges, bright green and pleasantly fragrant when crushed. Leaves, fruits, and buds are intensely fragrant, due to the presence of glands containing essential oils, which are extracted from the buds for perfumery. The bark is smooth and reddish on young branches, darkening with age. Flowering takes place in April-May, in the form of small flowers arranged in pendulous clusters that are often not very visible. It is followed by the formation of large berries, ripening in late June to early July, with black and shiny skin, gathered in long clusters. It bears fruit quickly, with the first harvest expected one year after planting. The fruits have a slightly acidic, aromatic flavour when fully ripe, and are very juicy. The yield is average, about 4kg per plant.

Plant the Boskoop Giant Blackcurrant in the vegetable garden, alongside the main path, or mixed in flowering shrub borders. The blackcurrant is rich in tannins, aromas, vitamin C, and C2. It can be consumed fresh in a mixed berry salad, as juice, syrup, jams or jellies, in pastries (pies, charlottes, and sorbets), and in cooking (puree, coulis). It is used to make liqueurs and nectars. Blackcurrants can be dried or frozen for winter storage. In a blackcurrant plantation, as in any plantation, it is important to alternate varieties and species when space allows: pollination will be favoured, even if the variety is self-fertile.

According to some authors, the name "cassis" is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "Ribas". Today, blackcurrant is increasingly being recognised in the world of phytotherapy. Diuretic, analgesic, and antibiotic, it is increasingly being proposed as an alternative solution to allopathy for the treatment of many pathologies.