Currants are dried fruit made from a specific type of grape, the Zante grape. At least, those are the types of currants you are more likely to find in your supermarket. True currants are made from actual currants but are not as easily found in the UK.
Zante currants are a great source of sweetness when you’re trying to be more health-conscious. They are full of health benefits, making them a popular ingredient most commonly used in baked goods.
Unless you specifically need true currants, regular currants are very affordable and easy to find.
However, if you are not a fan of currants or have run out in the middle of a recipe, then there are plenty of other dried fruit you can use instead.
Our 3 Substitutes for Currants
The very sweet, slightly sour flavour of currents makes them the dried fruit of choice in baked goods.
Though they are also useful in helping to balance out sharp, savoury flavours, making them the ideal ingredient to pair with rich meats.
Here are our top 3 substitutes for currants:
1) Dried Cranberries
If you were to place cranberries and currants next to each other, they would be almost identical. This is also true for their flavour profiles and uses, especially if you substitute red currants for cranberries.
Cranberries are often favoured over currants in baking recipes because of their numerous health benefits. They can be used to help prevent UTIs, strengthen immune systems and are a recommended snack for people with unstable blood pressure or weak hearts.
Better yet, cranberries offer all of these health benefits without losing any of their natural sweetness. Of course, cranberries taste a little different to currants as they are more tart than sour.
This difference will not alter your dish too much, but it does mean that cranberries also work great with more savoury foods such as onions or when used in salads.
Avoid at Christmas
Though they are available all year round, cranberries tend to become very expensive during the holiday season as more people make their own cranberry sauce and sweet treats.
Try a different substitute if you need to replace currants in a recipe around the holidays to avoid being overcharged.
2) Raisins
Currants and raisins are used in very similar ways because they are made using raisins that are then dried in the same way. The main difference is that cranberries are made using a specific type of raisin with a more intense sweetness.
Due to being made from various grapes rather than one specific kind, the colour and taste of raisins can vary slightly from brand to brand, depending on what type of grape manufacturers use.
Because raisins have less sweetness to them, they tend to be healthier than cranberries and are more palatable for people who do not enjoy overly sweet bakes. They also have more potassium and are lower in fat than currants.
Raisins are easier to use in a recipe once they have been plumped (soaked in water) and have softened up.
Go Organic!
Currants may be popular, but raisins are even easier to find for a more affordable price in pretty much every supermarket.
However, it is better to buy organic raisins as their grapes are less likely to have been covered in pesticides, generally making them healthier. Though this can make them slightly more expensive.
3) Dried Dates
The honey-like sweetness of dried dates makes them a good substitute for currants. You could use regular dates instead, though dates develop a deeper sweetness when dried and are the better option.
Dates are a lot bigger than currants, so you will not need to use as many of them, but you will need to make sure to chop them up to the size of currants before adding them to your recipe so that they do not alter the texture.
Once considered the fruit of the pharaoh in Egypt, dates are now available all over the world for a very reasonable price. They will most likely cost more than currants, but dates have a variety of uses, so you will not be wasting your money.
You will most likely find dates used in baking recipes in the west, but in Middle Eastern cuisine, they are also used in curries and savour dishes to add a natural sweetness.
Know How to Cut Them Easily
Both dried and regular dates are very sticky, which people love about them. However, this does serve as a challenge when it comes to chopping them up.
To make the task easier, use a sharp knife and dip it in warm water after every date to avoid a sticky mess.
Other Substitutes for Currants
If you are not a fan of the above substitutes or have some more unique dried fruits that you need to use up, here are a few more currant substitutes that you can use instead:
- Dried Blueberries – A more obscure ingredient, dried blueberries are not as sweet as most other dried fruit, so they are good to use in baking if you don’t like overly sweet treats.
- Dried Sour Cherries – Some people love cherries, others hate them. But to replicate that slightly more sour flavour of currants, dried sour cherries are great.
Summary
As a dried fruit, currants are easy to replace with other dried fruits, especially those that are made from other grapes such as raisins or other berries such as dried cranberries.
Though most other dried fruit is bigger than currants so will need to be cut to the right size to avoid a change in your dishes’ texture.