Currant

A currant is a tiny dried grape made from the seedless Black Corinth variety. It tastes deeply sweet with a winey tang and a chewy bite, bringing a jammy pop to batters, doughs, pilafs, and stuffings. Cooks use them much like raisins, especially in scones, hot cross buns, and fruitcakes, and they are sold as small, uniformly dark, seedless bits.\n\nGrown historically around Corinth and the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante) in Greece, the dried currant became a major export to Western Europe and the UK. Plantings later took hold in California and other Mediterranean climates, but Greek production and British baking traditions still define its identity.