After four or so years of growing currants in Rhode Island, this is the first season we were able to harvest enough to put up. In the last few years, our chickens would take the low-hanging fruit, and a family of cat birds nesting in an eave would eat the rest. A little netting saved the currants and some alpine strawberries in the garden this summer.
We used the standard recipe for currant preserves from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving which was pretty simple, using currants, currant juice, and a lot of sugar. It’s pretty good, albeit really sweet.
There are plenty of online recipes including one that uses oranges and another by David Lebovitz in France.
As the berries become really ripe, they’re delicious for snacking off the vine in the hot summer air.
Outdoor Living in New England 