Currant Fest Cultivates Delicious Community

By Britany Adorno-Alicea

The 3rd Annual Currant Fest was celebrated at the Georgeson Botanical Gardens at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, bringing together the whole Fairbanks community to celebrate the growing and preservation of currant berries. The event was free for all and was full of fun activities and optional workshops that showcased the many uses of currants.

Vendors selling fresh produce or handmade products or simply hosting a stand in association with another organization were in attendance, selling or advertising their products and there were crowds of people, ranging from families to couples and groups of friends or elderly folk, many of which meandered through the beautiful garden setting. Upon entering the gardens, you could choose to engage in a small activity, which includes visiting the stations set up around the garden to help encourage people to learn about currants, and those who do participate have a chance to win a small prize.

Currants here in Alaska and all over the states have an interesting history, dating back to the early 1900s. Currants and gooseberries carry a fungus called the white pine blister rust. This was deemed detrimental to the lumber industry, so they were banned, making the growth of currants illegal. During the Great Depression, a group of men were hired to go and burn down any currant and gooseberry plants they could find to protect the white pines from the fungus. In the 60’s, they began to lift this ban state by state. Currants are now legal to grow nationwide, with exceptions such as, but not limited to, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island having restrictions on the growing, selling, or planting of certain species of currants and states like North Carolina prohibiting it altogether.

Photo by Britany Adorno-Alicea
Lily Hislop inviting guests to try out a fun test of using the five tastes to identify the flavors in the ramekins on the table
Attendees at the Currant Fest eagerly awaiting to find out their score on the Veggie Meter.

Glenna Gannon, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at UAF, helped to organize the event and set up a station for taste testing. She described the history of Currant Fest and why they focus on these small and nutritious berries.

“This is our third year and it was really started because we have a gene bank collection of currants in the botanical garden,” said Gannon. “There was a number of us who were excited to advertise that as a resource for a high latitude, high nutrition, hearty crop that would be good for Alaska.”

Gannon’s station demonstrated the uses of currants, hosting three different areas where you could taste test the berries and learn how the difference in flavors affect the different berries.

This year guest Lily Hislop, who is a currant writer from Savanna Institute, manned a different station offering people the chance to see how different flavors tasted and how to identify them when tasting berries. Anyone who wanted to could also get a taste of three different ice creams and sorbets made from black, red, and pink currants, all of which had different flavors and were developed by Chef Flora Deacon. Deacon hosted a workshop during the event and has been a participant since the first year.

Photo by Britany Adorno-Alicea
Chef Flora Deacon’s workshop; cooking up bison meatballs with a currant sauce.

Chef Flora Deacon’s workshop during the Currant Fest was a demonstration of currants used as a sauce dip to accompany bison meatballs. Two different sauces were offered — one was made with pomegranate juice and the other using porto juice — but both were made with red currants. It was a delightful time watching Chef Deacon cook, showing exact expertise in her field. Based out of Wasilla, Chef Deacon is the owner of her own business and specializes in adapting recipes for traditional foods, such as bison, moose, and fish. The demonstration during the workshop was a beautiful display of expertise, captivating with the smells of the spices used on the bison meat, as well as giving a lesson with clear instructions on how to properly cook bison meat and with demonstrations of how to cook the currant sauce.

Part of the Currant Fest’s mission is to advertise currants as being highly nutritious. This is exactly what Andrea Bersamin did at her station. Bersamin is a public health nutrition scientist and professor for the department of biology at UAF. Along with student volunteers from the biology department, Bersamin hosted the “Veggie Meter”, a device that measures fruit and vegetable intake in humans.

Photo by Britany Adorno-Alicea
Potted ripe wood stem cuttings of currant plants.

“The veggie meter measures skin carotenoid levels,” Bersamin explained. “Carotenoids are pigments that give fruits and vegetables their bright colors. They act as anti-oxidants in our body and we can only get those carotenoids from the fruits and vegetables we eat.”

At a different station, Patricia Holloway had a discussion with some out of town folks on the process of propagating currants and gooseberries. With Alaska’s cold climates, it's important to know the conditions that these plants can survive in and what kind of care needs to be taken for them to thrive.

“Each part of the plant is different, and has different conditions they thrive in,” said Holloway during a demonstration. “The plants thrive no problem, but the flower buds don’t because the hardiness of the flower bud is different from the plant.”

Currant plants require a lot of maintenance to keep them healthy, especially if grown from seeds, to ensure that in two to three years time they will start to produce fruit. In order to cultivate your own currant plants look into the conditions needed for it to thrive in your area. The botanical gardens here offer good insight into how currants thrive in Alaska weather, but if you happen to be visiting from out of the state, follow up with experts in your home town, as long as you don’t live in a state that still has currant propagating banned.

The Currant Fest is a great way to enjoy a fun day out and to learn about a part of Fairbanks harvesting culture. It brought in people from all over to learn about a great addition to Alaska’s agriculture and provided attendees with an evening full of fun and learning. More than just a showcase of berries, the Currant Fest brought together education, research, and community in one day, making this event a memorable addition to the growing traditions of the Fairbanks community.

What excites you most about being here at UAF this year?