The jostaberry is a complex-cross fruit bush in the Ribes genus. It is commonly described as a cross between the blackcurrant and the gooseberry, but it is actually the result of a more complex breeding program initiated by Erwin Baur at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research. The name of the fruit comes from the German words for blackcurrant and gooseberry: Johannisbeere (Jo) and Stachelbeere (Sta). Following German pronouncation of J, it may be pronounced yostaberry in English. The original fruit was made available to the public in 1977

The shiny nearly-black berry, which is smaller than a gooseberry and a bit larger than a blackcurrant, is edible both raw and cooked. It is described as having a taste intermediate between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant, with the gooseberry flavor more dominant in the unripe fruit, and the blackcurrant notes developing as the fruit ripens. The ripe fruit will hang on the bush in good condition through late summer, but is very popular with birds. The somewhat unripe fruit can be used in cooking recipes as a gooseberry. Like blackcurrants the fruit freezes well, and like many other members of the Ribes genus it is rich in Vitamin C.