Greg Quinn surveys a field of currants at his Staatsburg farm.

At the end of the 19th century, New York state was one of the leading producers of black currants in the world.  Then the tart little indigenous berry of the genus Ribes - an American dietary staple since before the founding of the Republic known for its high vitamin C content and ability to grow in harsh conditions, i.e. New England winters - was fingered as a host for the fungus white pine blister rust.  The powerful timber lobby quickly had laws passed banning the commercial cultivation of what had been an economically significant Northeastern berry.  In 1966, after years of study and the discovery of fungus resistant types of Ribes, (which also include red, white, and pink currants as well as gooseberries) the federal ban was lifted.  Certain states relaxed restrictions but New York's law still remained on the books until 2003.

That would all change thanks to Gregg Quinn, a horticulturalist who became interested in the berry when visiting Clinton Vineyards where proprietor Ben Fader was making cassis (a liqueur made from black currants).  Quinn knew of the ban from his horticultural background and inquired about the source of the currants.  Informed that they were not easy to obtain and had to be acquired through Canada, Quinn became determined to do something about it.  He had recently purchased the dormant 140-acre Walnut Grove Farm in Clinton and was researching crops to grow.  The more he learned about currants the more he liked what he heard.  He figured that if this berry could support a billion-dollar-a-year industry in Europe including everything from juices and foods to cosmetics to homeopathic remedies, the potential for growth in the US was staggering, especially in terms of smaller farms, which are rapidly being sold off and developed.

Pork with vegetable relish and potato pancake lined with currant sauce dots, prepared by chef Michael Bernardo of the Depuy Canal House.

I went out to his farm where he showed me around his initial seven acres of currants while he talked about his company, Au Currant Enterprises.  As we walked around his postcard-perfect property on a crisp October afternoon, he related his efforts to rekindle the dormant New York currant industry to its previous glory.  "When we were looking for ways to support the farm, I was looking for a niche crop.  I didn't want to grow apples or corn or hay or grapes so I wanted something that was unusual, and that's why currants really fit the bill.  I knew about the ban, but not much more.  So I decided to look into it, and I discovered that the science behind the ban, 1911 science, wasn't that good, and there are disease resistant types and so on.  So we set about to change the legislation with the aid of Senator Bill Larkin.  It passed both houses unanimously and the governor signed it into law a year ago in August."  By the time it was signed Quinn had presciently planted seven acres of hardy currant bushes which take three years to produce fruit.  He was actually able to harvest this year in the first season after the ban was lifted, so he is a step ahead of the curve in reviving the nascent New York currant industry.

John Novi is the executive chef and proprietor of the Depuy Canal House in High Falls, where he is in his 35th year of preparing local farm fresh produce and meats into four-star dishes.  During a frequently interrupted interview, he talked a bit about one of his favorite topics.  "I think that the relationship between the farm and restaurant is fantastic and I recently have become more involved in that connection.  I am on the board of the Rondout Valley Growers Association, which is a new organization of about 35 farms from Ellenville to Kingston.  It's so great.  I know each and every farmer that I get produce from for the restaurant."  One of the ways Novi has nursed this forgotten connection is to stage a series of barn dances over the past two years to raise money and awareness about the plight of small farms.  Farmers donated and delivered fresh produce to participating restaurants that prepared food for a menu Novi had created.  The restaurants then delivered that food to the dances, which have attracted hundreds of people.  "It's about creating a sense of community that I feel has really been lost over my lifetime of growing up around here," Novi told me.

Greg Quinn drinking currant juice.

Which brings the story back to currants, the culinary star of the first of a series of conceptual dinners entitled "The Nature of Open Space."  Novi explained his motivation behind the idea.  He told me, "It's two-fold.  It's to introduce the general public to a product they are not used to that is not frequently used, but indigenous to the area.  Most people probably think black currant bushes are bird food.  And then it's to help the farm.  They are just persevering, trying to make ends meet.  I think that some of the farmers like Davenport's [and] Gill have always had some red currants growing wild on their property.  It would be great if we could get some crops planted in this area other than just corn and apples."

As we walked around his farm, Quinn told me:"Farmers don't sell their farms and get out of the business because they don't like farming anymore.  They stop farming because they can't afford it because of taxes, overhead and costs and so forth.

This is the first crop to offer a potential profit in decades.  And that's pretty exciting.  No one's ever bulldozed a hundred houses to make a farm.  This could be an alternative when taking over an existing farm, rather than having them go the way of the developer."  When he launched into the health benefits of currants, Quinn became animated.  "Now, the real story behind currants is the fact that currants are incredibly healthy.  They have four times the vitamin C of oranges.  They have twice the antioxidants of blueberries, which was king until now.  Twice the potassium of bananas.  They have all kinds of ancillary side effects, like they lower blood pressure, they are good for skin diseases like psoriasis, they are good for the eyes.  The market potential is extraordinary."  Quinn will be expounding on these ideas at a free talk entitled "Growing Black Currants As a Major Crop for Rondout Valley and New York State Growers" at the Depuy Canal House on Sunday, November 14.

A handful of currants.

Quinn's talk will be followed with a seven-course meal prepared by Novi called "Forbidden Fruit," in which each dish will feature currants prepared in various ways.  When I spoke with Novi, he was still experimenting with the menu, but threw out some hints of what can be expected.  One of the featured entrees will be a pork dish prepared with a balsamic vinegar black currant sauce.  There will be an appetizer of brandied fig and currants with proscuitto.  He is also working on a cod or halibut marinated in black currant juice.  For dessert he has planned a Grand Marnier soufflé drizzled with black and red currant sauces.

Quinn voiced a sentiment echoed by Novi when he told me, "This is about locally produced fresh food.  This is about making sure that farmers are supported so that we have fresh food.  What a great thing to give an apple to a kid and tell him 'this grew in that tree over there.'  We have lost that understanding.  Kids don't know that the meat in the package came from that cow over there.  There is a disconnect there with kids.  They see it in Stop 'n Shop and it has no relevance to the farm.  What we need to do, we as farmers and you in the media, is to get back that world and reconnect people to the knowledge that is really, really important to support local farms."

Greg Quinn's free talk "Growing Black Currants As a Major Crop for Rondout Valley and New York State Growers" will begin at 3pm on November 14 at the Depuy Canal House in High Falls.  It will be followed by the "Forbidden Fruit" dinner at 4:30.  Dinner is $60 including wine and gratuity.

(845) 687-7700
www.aucurrant.com