Blackcurrant Jam substitute

Best substitute

Red currant jelly

Use the same amount as the blackcurrant jam you are replacing

Best for duck and venison sauces

Different texture

The job blackcurrant jam does is sharp acidity plus a deep musky berry aroma, not just sweetness, so pick a swap that keeps the acid. Red currant jelly is the closest in role and swaps one for one, especially in a pan sauce, though it is milder and clearer. Blackberry jam is the closest in colour and body. For a sauce, creme de cassis plus any dark jam is the best reconstruction of the flavour. Damson or plum jam, or black cherry jam plus a squeeze of lemon, all work in baking. Nothing tastes exactly like blackcurrant, so expect a good sauce rather than an identical one.

Other blackcurrant jam substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Blackberry jam
Different taste
Use the same amount
Dark seeded or seedless blackberry jam, widely available and similar in colour.
What changes
Best for
toast, Victoria sponge, thumbprints, Linzer bars, duck sauce, cheese boards
The closest thing most supermarkets stock, and visually almost identical, so a cake or a cookie filled with it looks right. Blackberry is sweeter and rounder than blackcurrant and does not have that puckering sharpness, so a pan sauce made with it can taste flat against duck or game. A teaspoon of lemon juice or red wine vinegar per quarter cup fixes most of that. Seeded jam gives a slightly gritty crunch, which nobody minds on toast but which shows up in a smooth sauce, so sieve it if you can.
3Creme de cassis plus any dark jam
Close match
2 tbsp cassis plus 2 tbsp blackberry or plum jam replaces ¼ cup blackcurrant jam
Blackcurrant liqueur, which carries the true blackcurrant flavour, combined with a jam for body.
What changes
Best for
duck sauce, venison and game sauces, pan sauces, poached fruit, dessert sauces, glazes
The best reconstruction available and the answer if the blackcurrant flavour is what the dish is actually about. Cassis is made from blackcurrants, so it supplies the exact aroma that no other jam has, while the jam supplies the thickness and set that liqueur alone cannot. Simmer the cassis for a minute or two first so the alcohol cooks off, otherwise the sauce tastes boozy and thin. Note it does add sweetness, so cut any sugar in the recipe and finish with lemon juice or vinegar to keep the sauce from turning syrupy.
4Damson or plum jam
Different taste
Use the same amount
Dark, tart jam from damsons or Italian prune plums, common in British and Central European kitchens.
What changes
Best for
Linzer bars, toast, sachertorte glaze, meat glazes, filled buns, steamed puddings
A genuinely good baking swap, since damson jam shares blackcurrant's dark colour and sharp finish. It is stone fruit rather than berry, so the flavour is winier and slightly almond-like rather than musky and green, and ordinary sweet plum jam is markedly milder than damson and will read as simply sweet. Where this swap shows least is under a strong pastry such as a nut-based Linzer dough; where it shows most is in a sauce, where the missing berry aroma is noticeable.
5Black cherry jam plus lemon juice
Different taste
Use the same amount plus 1 tsp lemon juice per ¼ cup
Dark sweet cherry jam or preserves, sharpened with lemon to compensate for the lower acidity.
What changes
Best for
duck sauce, cheesecake topping, thumbprints, cake fillings, pork glaze, toast
Right colour, right depth, wrong acidity, which the lemon largely solves. Cherry and blackcurrant sit close together as flavours for rich meat, so a duck sauce made with cherry jam and lemon is excellent, just sweeter and more mellow with a faint marzipan note instead of that green-leaf tartness. In desserts it needs no correction at all. If the recipe was relying on blackcurrant to cut through cream or fat, add the lemon and taste again before serving.
6Frozen blackcurrants cooked into a quick jam
Close match
300g frozen blackcurrants plus 150g sugar makes about 1 cup
Frozen blackcurrants, which are far easier to find than the jam in the United States, simmered with sugar.
What changes
Best for
any recipe where blackcurrant flavour is the point, sauces, fillings, toast, coulis
If you can find the fruit, this is the real thing and it takes fifteen minutes. Simmer the frozen currants with about half their weight in sugar and a tablespoon of water until they burst and the mixture thickens, then push it through a sieve if you want it smooth. Blackcurrants are extremely high in natural pectin, so it sets readily without any added pectin and can go stiff if you overcook it; stop when a spoonful wrinkles on a cold plate. Keep it in the fridge and use within two weeks. If you intend to can it for the pantry, follow a tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation without altering the sugar or acid.

What is Blackcurrant Jam?

Blackcurrant Jam is Blackcurrant jam is small dark blackcurrants cooked with sugar into a thick, almost black preserve that is far more tart and aromatic than most jams, which is why it works as well in sauces for duck and game as it does on toast.

Cooking tips

In a pan sauce, blackcurrant jam is doing the work of both sugar and vinegar. If you swap in a sweeter jam, add a teaspoon of red wine vinegar or lemon juice per quarter cup so the sauce still cuts through the fat of duck or venison.
Blackcurrant jam is very high in pectin, so it thickens fast and can turn gluey when reduced. Add it near the end of a sauce, let it just melt, and stop reducing once it coats the back of a spoon.
Sieve any seeded jam before using it in a sauce or a smooth filling. Blackcurrant seeds are small enough to pass unnoticed, but blackberry and raspberry seeds are gritty in a glossy sauce.
In the United States blackcurrant jam is hard to find, but frozen blackcurrants, blackcurrant cordial and creme de cassis all turn up more often. Any of the three will get you closer to the real flavour than a different jam will.
Do not confuse blackcurrant jam with Zante currants or dried currants, which are actually small dried grapes and taste nothing like it. If a recipe says currant jam, it means the berry.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave blackcurrant jam out?

In a sauce for duck, venison or lamb, leaving it out changes the dish, because the jam is providing the sweet-sharp counterweight to rich meat. The minimum replacement is a teaspoon of sugar plus a teaspoon of red wine vinegar per tablespoon of jam, which keeps the balance even if the fruit flavour is gone. In a cake or a filled cookie, the jam is the filling and cannot be omitted, though any other jam will do the job.

Is red currant jelly the same as blackcurrant jam?

No, but it is the closest common substitute in savoury cooking. Red currants are a different, milder fruit, and jelly is strained clear so there is no fruit pulp or seed. Both are very tart and both melt into a sauce the same way, so they swap one for one in Cumberland sauce, duck sauce and glazes. In a dessert you will notice that red currant jelly is lighter, brighter and much less aromatic.

Where can I buy blackcurrant jam in the US?

It is uncommon on ordinary supermarket shelves because blackcurrant growing was restricted in much of the United States for most of the twentieth century. Look in British or Eastern European import shops, in the international aisle, or online. Frozen blackcurrants in larger supermarkets and creme de cassis in liquor stores are both easier finds and let you build the flavour yourself.

What can I use for a Linzer torte if I have no blackcurrant jam?

Any dark tart jam keeps the character of a Linzer intact, so blackcurrant, damson, plum, black cherry or blackberry are all good, with raspberry the traditional alternative in many Austrian recipes. Choose a thick jam over a loose one, because a runny filling boils up through the lattice and burns on the tray. If your jam is thin, simmer half a cup with a teaspoon of cornstarch and cool it before filling.

Can I use blackcurrant cordial or syrup instead?

For flavour yes, for body no. Cordial has the right aroma but almost no thickness, so a sauce made with it stays thin and a filling will run straight out of pastry. Reduce two tablespoons of cordial with two tablespoons of any dark jam to get both, or reduce the cordial hard with a little sugar until it is syrupy. In baking, do not pour cordial into a batter as a jam replacement; the extra liquid will change the crumb.

Related substitutes

More preserves substitutes

Blackcurrant Jam substitute

Other blackcurrant jam substitutes

2Blackberry jam

3Creme de cassis plus any dark jam

4Damson or plum jam

5Black cherry jam plus lemon juice

6Frozen blackcurrants cooked into a quick jam