calico_pye

I had wondered if the blackcurrant was only common in Europe and Asia, but apparently it was grown in the US - however they banned it. I had a bit of a dig through Wiki and this is what I found:

'Blackcurrants were once popular in the United States as well, but became less common in the 20th century after currant farming was banned in the early 1900s, when blackcurrants, as a vector of white pine blister rust, were considered a threat to the U.S. logging industry. The federal ban on growing currants was shifted to jurisdiction of individual states in 1966, and was lifted in New York State in 2003 through the efforts of horticulturist Greg Quinn. As a result, currant growing is making a comeback in New York, Vermont, Connecticut and Oregon. However, several statewide bans still exist including Maine-et-Loire, New Hampshire, Virginia,Ohio,and Massachusetts. Since the American federal ban curtailed currant production nationally for nearly a century, the fruit remains largely unknown in the United States, and has yet to regain its previous popularity to levels enjoyed in Europe or New Zealand'.

This is the reason for the lack of blackcurrant jam sandwich in the U.S. I suppose the closest berry is the blueberry.

Edited at 2017-11-17 06:11 am (UTC)