This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
What to do with a blackcurrant glut?
dogwooddays
Posts: 258
in Fruit & veg
Here's the first 1/8 of my first blackcurrant bush harvest. Best crop yet this year. We make jam and syrup - any other ideas of ways to use blackcurrants (we also have white and red currants which we could add too)
Thanks :-)
0
Posts
Freezing sounds good. I've already done that with some from the allotment. Not sure I need a PYO site though!! Then I might drown in currants! ;-)
I already give lots away to friends. Maybe I'll start on the neighbours next :-)
Send them to me. Or, alternatively--a favourite recipe I have made in the past was to let blackcurrants come up to the boil with a bit of lemon zest, lots of sugar and some water. Wait until they disintegrate and voila! blackcurrant compote. Add other soft fruit like raspberries and strawberries and you have an amazing summer pudding with fromage frais. You can do it straight from frozen blackcurrants in bags so freezing them would work well.
Sounds lovely. I'll try that. Yum :-D
Blackcurrant vinegar is good - google for recipes - and I make spiced blackcurrant jelly which is a standard strained jelly recipe but with added spices in the boiling phase - cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, vanilla pod on their own or in combination. Good on plain toast and butter but also with cream cheese on an open sandwich and fab if you use a generous spoonful in savoury sauce for meat or game..
I used to make lots of blackcurrant jam. I strain some to make a jelly with no pips in. A spoonful in hot water is like ribena. Blackcurrant curd makes a good filling for sponge cake.
Since hubby became borderline diabetic, we are cutting down on sugar, so frozen blackcurrants get added to porridge for the last minute in the microwave.
I freeze all mine and do a mixed fruit compote then put it on jam tart, I put it on my cereal with lots of fresh fruit.
Great ideas thanks. I like the compote on breakfast idea and I'll definitely be trying the blackcurrant spiced jelly. Just planning it with my hubby right now! :-)
I have still a load in the freezer from last year, plus jam I made. This year I am going to make my own cordial, OH bought a bottle of blackcurrant the other day, I thought why not. Got a recipe from permaculture magazine on-line "How to make cordials,naturally. " this one you can keep, you dont have to drink it straight away. Just picked the blackcurrants! Am going to use a sugar substiute, because of the grandkids teeth.
Cordial sounds great. Good for winter drinks.
For the spiced jelly:-
1 kg blackcurrants
900ml water
200ml cider vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
12 cloves
white caster sugar
Wash the fruit then bring to the boil in a stainless steel pan along with the water and spices. Simmer for one hour. Strain overnight through a fine mesh sieve or muslin cloth. Squeeze gently nut don't force it or the jelly will be cloudy.
Combine the resulting juice with the vinegar in a clean pan and then add 450g of sugar for every 600ml. Heat gently and stir till the si-gar is dissolved and then a rapid boil til setting point is reached. Skim, pot and seal.
Good on toast, with cheese or rich pâtés and a spoonful is good in sauces for fatty meats like duck and pork.
Last edited: 18 July 2016 10:53:47