Currants

Weeks Berries operates the largest currant farm in the West and is one of the largest currant farms in the nation. Black currants have health benefits that can’t be found anywhere else in nature.

The black-skinned fruit is packed with the antioxidants that help prevent cancer, heart problems and other maladies, medical experts say. Their disease-fighting levels are even higher than in blueberries. Black currants are high in Vitamin C, iron, potassium, vitamin A and calcium. Which is why for centuries, black currant fruit and leaves have been used for medicinal purposes, serving as a remedy for everything from the simple common cold and indigestion to more serious ailments such as kidney stones. Because of these benefits, black currants have been a mainstay in the Eastern European diet. (Kathy Stevenson, The Salt Lake Tribune)

Black currant berries are bursting with flavor and ideal for juices and jellies.

Weeks said his farm, which is more than 5,000 feet above sea level, is ideal for black currant production. The berry seems to flourish in the rich mountain soil, and the cooler nighttime temperatures "inject the berries with flavor and sugar." When fresh, these plump, solid-colored berries are tart and have a more intense flavor than red or white currants, which the Weekses also grow. Cooking, however, mellows the fruit. Which is why most black currants are turned into juice, preserves, syrups, teas, and even wine and liquor. At Weeks Berries the family makes a plain black currant juice, several blends as well as a black currant jam and syrup. "People just need to know how good it is," Steven Rosenberg, owner of Liberty Heights Fresh, said of the black currant juice he stocks in his Salt Lake City market. "It is an elixir.“ (Kathy Stevenson, The Salt Lake Tribune)