Blackcurrant Andega - Ribes nigrum

The 'Andega' Blackcurrant forms a medium-vigour bushy shrub. This variety is very productive, self-fertile, and resistant to powdery mildew. Its yellow bark forms a beautiful contrast with the black berries, nuanced with pink. Flowering occurs in late April. Fruit harvesting begins in early July. The bush produces beautiful clusters of tasty and fleshy, tart, aromatic, and flavourful berries. The flesh is pulpy and contains few seeds. The fruits keep well when refrigerated and make delicious jams. Easy to grow in heavy, fresh, deep soil, in non-scorching sun, protected from spring frosts.

Ribes nigrum belongs to the Grossulariaceae family, it is a deciduous shrub related to currants, native to regions ranging from the Pyrenees to Central Asia. The blackcurrant grows naturally in cool woodlands in northeastern Europe. It has been cultivated since the 16th century. The 'Andega' cultivar is a French creation (developed by INRA in 1987: hybrid 'Noir de Bourgogne' x 'Öjebyn'), self-fertile. It forms a medium-vigour bush with upright tufted growth, semi-erect, reaching a height of 1.50 m (5ft) with a spread of 1 m (3ft). The plant becomes mature in three years. The leaves, deciduous, are large, measuring from 6 to 10 cm (2 to 4in), flat, with three to five lobes with toothed edges, bright green and pleasantly fragrant when crushed. The fragrance is strong and distinctive in the fruit, bud, and leaf, due to the presence of glands containing essential oils, which are extracted from the buds for perfumery. The bark is smooth and yellow on sturdy branches. Flowering occurs in April-May, in the form of small flowers arranged in pendulous clusters, often not very visible. It is followed by the formation of medium-sized berries, ripening in late June-early July, with black skin and pink highlights. The clusters are numerous and dense, the fruit is uniform, colourful, and firm. The pulp is light green and contains few seeds. It bears fruit quickly, with the first harvest expected one year after planting, on two-year-old branches. The fruits have an acidic, strongly aromatic, and delicious flavour. The yield is excellent, about 5 kg per plant. The fruits keep well for 5 to 6 days when refrigerated.

Plant the 'Andega' blackcurrant in the vegetable garden, along the main pathway, or mixed in flower shrub beds. Blackcurrants are rich in tannins, aromas, vitamin C, and C2. 'Andega' produces particularly delicious jams. It can also be consumed fresh in a mixed-berry salad, as juice, syrup, in pastries (pies, clafoutis), sorbets, and in cooking (puree, coulis). Blackcurrants are used in the production of liqueurs. They can be dried or frozen, providing a reserve of fruits for the winter. In a blackcurrant plantation, as in any plantation, it is important to alternate varieties and species, when space allows: pollination will be enhanced, even if the variety is self-fertile.

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