There was a demand to have gooseberry-type fruits on thornless plants, and the first successful attempt to cross blackcurrant (R. nigrum) with European gooseberry (R. uva-crispa) was carried out by William Culverwell in Yorkshire, England in 1880.

The other F1 hybrid parent was a cross between the blackcurrant cultivar R. nigrum "Silvergieters Schwarze" with R. grossularia (syn.

[3] Additionally, several jostaberry varieties were developed independently from European breeding efforts at the USDA Agricultural Research Service unit in Corvallis, Oregon.

[7] The nearly black berry, which is smaller than a gooseberry and a bit larger than a blackcurrant, is edible both raw and cooked.

Like blackcurrants, the fruit freezes well, and like many other members of the genus Ribes, it is rich in vitamin C. Commercial production of jostaberries is limited because they are not well-suited to mechanical harvesting.

The plant itself grows to a maximum height of about 2 m, flowering in mid-spring, with fruit setting and ripening on a similar timetable to the blackcurrant.

The plant displays hybrid vigor, growing and fruiting well and being resistant to a number of common diseases afflicting other Ribes.

In particular the plant is resistant to mildew, leaf spot, white pine blister rust, and big bud gall mite.