Currants: Storehouse of Vitamin C and Antioxidants

When shopping for fresh and red currants, look for ones which are bright in color and with no soft spots or mold. Do not wash currants before you refrigerate them, and rinse them before using. They will last five to seven days  stored in a box in the fridge. If it is difficult to find them where you live, you can substitute frozen red currants in recipes.

Red currants have a very tart and sour flavour so they are occasionally eaten raw. When eaten raw, they are often used on top of ice cream, yogurt, granola and salads. You can use them in jams, jellies, sauces, syrup, muffins, pancakes and pies. Red currants are excellent for stewing and they make delicious compotes. 

Well, let's a short lecture on nutrition and health benefits of red currants. 

• First of all, red currants are well known as great sources of vitamin C and antioxidants which help mop-up pesky free radicals that mess around with cells in the body to initiate a variety of chronic diseases  and also responsible for ageing and health degeneration.
• Secondly, they are fat-free, cholesterol free and low in calories.

Below is a detailed chart of nutrition facts of raw red and white currants. 

Nutrition Facts Currants Red And White Raw Serving Size 100g Calories 56 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0.2g 0%     Saturated Fat 0.017g 0% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 1mg 0% Total Carbohydrate13.8g 5%     Dietary Fiber 4.3g 17%     Sugar 7.37g ~ Protein 1.4g ~ Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 68% Calcium 3% • Iron 6% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Vitamins   %DV Vitamin A 42IU 1%     Retinol equivalents 2μg ~     Retinol 0μg ~     Alpha-carotene 0μg ~     Beta-carotene 25μg ~     Beta-cryptoxanthin 0μg ~ Vitamin C 41mg 68% Vitamin E 0.1mg 0% Vitamin K 11μg 14% Vitamin B12 0μg 0% Thiamin 0.04mg 3% Riboflavin 0.05mg 3% Niacin 0.1mg 1% Pantothenic acid0.064mg 1% Vitamin B6 0.07mg 4% Folate 8μg 2%     Folic Acid 0μg ~     Food Folate 8μg ~     Dietary Folate Equivalents 8μg ~ Choline 7.6mg ~ Lycopene 0μg ~ Lutein+zeazanthin47μg ~

Minerals   %DV Calcium 33mg 3% Iron 1mg 6% Magnesium 13mg 3% Phosphorus 44mg 4% Sodium 1mg 0% Potassium 275mg 8% Zinc 0.23mg 2% Copper 0.107mg 5% Manganese 0.186mg 9% Selenium 0.6μg 1% Water 83.95g ~ Ash 0.66g ~ Useful Stats Percent of Daily Calorie Target (2000 calories) 2.8% Percent Water Composition 83.95% Protein to Carb Ratio (g/g) 0.1g