A currant is a small berry, such as a red or black currant, or a small dried grape used in baking. A current is a flow of water, air, or electric charge. As an adjective, current means happening or in use now.
Decide whether you mean fruit, a flow, or the present
- Currant. We spooned red currant jam onto the toast. The jam is made from berries.
- Current as a noun. The current carried a leaf under the bridge. The moving water carried the leaf.
- Current as an adjective. The current menu includes currant scones. This is the menu in use now.
Check what the recipe calls for
In recipes, dried currants often means small dried grapes, such as Zante currants. A recipe may specify red currants or black currants when it calls for the berries.
These spellings are homophones. Compare Cereal vs. Serial for another pair in which one spelling names a food.
