Request for info - CLOVE CURRANT

[Horsea]

I hope I'm in the right place to post this. I have a clove currant bush and I want to know what to do with all those wonderful black berries. Many thanks. I'd prefer to make a jam or jelly, but all replies are welcome.

[Ma's_Garden]

The clove currant is a black currant, so I looked up black currant recipes for you. Here is a recipe for black currant jam:

Black Currant Jam #1

Ingredients:
36 oz. black currants
3 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water

Boil black currants in the water for about 30 minutes, or till soft.
Add sugar, and boil till jam will jell, about 30 minutes.

Always use wooden spoon and a solid flat enamel pan.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Jam #2

Ingredients :
18 cups Black currants, stemmed and rinsed (about 6 lbs.)
6 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Honey

Method :
• Put some of the currants in a large kettle. Heat over low heat, crushing with a potato masher to make some juice. Add remaining currants.
• Heat to boiling; simmer one minute. Stir in sugar and simmer, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add honey; simmer 4 minutes longer. Test for set. Then put in jars.
• Makes about 12 8-oz. jars.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Jam #3

5 cups of black currants (1 quart)
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Wash and remove currant stems.
Place fruit in heavy saucepan with 2 cups of water.
Bring slowly to boil, uncovered, stirring to break down fruit into a pulp.
Cook for 10 minutes or until soft.
Add sugar and lemon juice over low heat; stir until sugar is dissolved.
Raise heat; bring to full rolling boil, stirring often.
Boil hard, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; test for jam stage.
Cook longer if needed and test again.
Let stand 5 minutes, skimming off any foam with large metal spoon and stirring occasionally to prevent floating fruit.
Pour into hot sterilized jars and heat seal.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Jam #4

Black currants can toughen and ruin your preserves unless the skins are first tenderized.
Cook initially and soak overnight.
• 3 cups black currants
• 2 cups water
• 5 cups granulated sugar
Combine the currants and water and boil. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, cool, pour into a bowl, and let stand overnight. Next day, add sugar and boil rapidly over high heat. Continue to boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Stir constantly for 5 minutes and then pour into hot sterilized jars. Seal. Yields 5 8-oz. jars.

[Ma's_Garden]

Homemade Black Currant Jam

Ingredients:
4 lb. black currants
3 pints water
6 lb. sugar

Method:
1. Put the cleaned fruit in the pan with the water.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer until soft.

3. Stir in the sugar and boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

4. Remove from the heat, skim, pot, cover, and label.

Yield: 10 lb.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Jelly

• 8 cups black currants
• 8 cups water
• 4 cups granulated sugar
Boil currants and water. Cover and simmer about 10 to 15 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Crush periodically to extract flavor.
Wet a jelly bag, squeeze out excess moisture and fill with currant pulp. Drip juice for 3 to 4 hours. If you don't mind cloudy jelly, you can squeeze and speed up the process.
Measure 4 cups of currant juice and boil over high heat. Boil hard for 3 minutes. Stir in the sugar and bring back to the boil and boil vigorously till the jelly stage. This usually takes about 5 minutes with tart black currants.
Remove from heat. Skim foam and pour into sterilized jars. Seal. Makes about 6 6-oz. jars for every 4 cups of juice.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Juice

• 4 cups black currants
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
Extract juice as per Black Currant Jelly process. Combine juice with sugar and lemon. Boil over high heat and pour into sterilized quart sealers. Leave 1/4 inch head space. Process for 15 minutes in a canner.
To serve: Dilute 1 part Black Currant juice in 3 to 4 parts water or soda.

[Ma's_Garden]

To make a syrup, let black currant juice boil down till it thickens to syrup consistency. If you let it boil down till it is thicker, it will be jelly. You can also leave it uncovered in the refrigerator, and it will gradually thicken. Store in the freezer. Good poured over vanilla ice cream.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Sherbet

1 quart fresh black currants, or frozen or (1 l.) canned
juice of 3 lemons
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar (225 g.)
3/4 cup (1.8 dl.) water

Puree black currants and combine with lemon juice, sugar, and water.
Freeze.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Smoothie

Combine in blender:

1 1/2 cups of ice cubes
1 large banana
1 cup frozen or fresh black currants
1/2 cup fat free blueberry yogurt
1 1/2 cups soy milk (preferably vanilla flavored)

Serve immediately. Makes approx. 4 servings.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant and Red Currant Tarts
Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients :
Shortcrust pastry made with wholewheat flour
8 oz. Black currants
8 oz. Red currants
4 oz. Honey
4 tbsp. Chopped sweet cicely
Glace cherries or angelica, optional

Method :
• Heat oven to 400F. Use the pastry to line 6 tart tins 2-inches deep by 2 inches diameter. Mix the currants with the honey & cicely. Fill the pastry with the currants. Cover each tart individually with foil & place on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Let them cool completely.
• If you wish, whip up some cream & pipe it onto the tarts. Decorate with glace cherries or angelica.


Shortcrust Pastry
Makes 8 oz. Dough

Ingredients:

5 oz. Whole Wheat Flour
3 oz. Butter
A pinch of Salt
3-4 tbsp. Water to mix

Instructions:

1. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add half the water and mix with a knife until it begins to bind, then add enough of the remaining water to give a soft enough dough which enables you to gather any remaining flour and knead to a smooth pastry.

3. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.

[Ma's_Garden]

Black Currant Fruit Jellies
Yield: 24 squares

Ingredients :
3 lb. black currants
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 cups superfine sugar
1 x granulated sugar, for coating the candies

Method :
• In a large bowl combine the black currants and lemon juice. Crush the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. Let the fruit stand, covered, overnight.
• Tip the contents of the bowl into a preserving pan, bring to a boil over low heat, and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, or until the fruit is softened completely.
• Force the fruit through a fine sieve into a bowl. Measure the puree and for every 2 cups puree measure 1 cup of superfine sugar. Return the puree to the pan and stir in the sugar. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil it for about 30 minutes, or until it is very thick and easily comes away from the sides of the pan.
• Rinse out a large rectangular baking pan, 10 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 1 inch, with cold water and shake it dry, leaving a few drops inside. Pour the fruit paste into the dish, smooth the surface, and let it stand, covered loosely with foil, overnight.
• Turn the paste out onto a work surface sprinkled generously with granulated sugar. Cut the slab into approximately 1 1/2-inch squares and toss the squares in more granulated sugar to coat them completely. Set the squares on a wire rack to dry for a few days and then store in an airtight container, separating the layers with wax paper.
• NOTE: Fruit jellies or fruit pastes (from the French pates de fruits) are candies of concentrated flavor made from the pulp of a fruit possessing a fair amount of sugar. For variations based on this technique, substitute an equal quantity of red currants, blackberries, or raspberries for the black currants. Other fruits well suited to this concentrated form are apricots, quinces, and plums.
• Perfect Preserves

[Ma's_Garden]

Pumpkin Clove-Currant Muffins

Nonstick cooking spray
1 tsp. grape seed oil
3 tsp. Ener-G Egg-Replacer powder
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/3 cup carrot juice, or orange juice
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/4 cup black currants, or raisins
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Streusel Topping (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, blend together oil, egg replacer, pumpkin, orange juice, sugar and raisins.
In a large mixing bowl, blend remaining ingredients except topping. Add the moist ingredients to the dry, blending just until mixed.
Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full and sprinkle with Streusel topping, if using. Bake for 25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, remove muffins and place on cooling rack.


Streusel Topping
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. natural unbleached sugar or brown sugar
6 Tbsp. oats (quick or regular)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 Tbsp. soft vegan margarine (Earth Balance)

Mix together all ingredients until crumbly.

*Adapted from The Phytopia Cookbook

[Ma's_Garden]

Black currants can be dried like raisins or they can be frozen to save for use in waffles.

[Horsea]

Ho-leeee! When AbundantAcres does something, it gets Done with a capital "D". What can I say, except Thank You?

[Sliver]

When I visited a family in Wales, they served a cookie like cake made with black currants. The dough was rolled out and cut like a cookie, but then was cooked on a griddle over the wood stove like a pancake. Do you have a recipe similar to this?

[Ma's_Garden]

Well, it certainly took me long enough, but I think I may have found the recipe that you requested.


Welsh Currant Cakes

These cookies take some practice to make perfectly. They should look like English muffins and be as light and flaky as biscuits.

(note - They weren't that tricky at all. > They recommended a cleaned tuna can to cut them out with, but I thought that was too big. I used a standard mason jar ring - cause I couldn't find a round cookie cutter.)

3 c. flour
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. currants
1-1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp. milk

Mix dry ingrediants together.
Cut in shortening, then add currants.
Beat eggs and milk together.
Add to flour mixture and mix to make a stiff dough.
Chill for 1 to 2 hours.
Divide dough into thirds, then roll out to 1/4" thickness on lightly floured board. Cut into round biscuits.
Heat griddle until water bounces off it. Lightly grease, then cook biscuits until tops puff and turn shiny. Flip and bake until golden.
Makes 24 biscuits.

From Harrowsmith Cookbook, Volume 3

[bluelacedredhead]

Mo, Thanks for bumping this back up with your latest contribution. The Pumpkin recipe looks divine (with a few substitutions).
We've always grown our own black currants and the neighbours have red..So this thread is one that will definitely be of us around here. TY

[Horsea]

DID YOU KNOW that the dried "currants" you buy in the store are not really currants (that grow on a bush) at all? It is actually a type of grape, namely, a Black Corinth grape. They resemble the currant berry (Ribes) but they are not the same thing. If true dried currants are available, I would not know where to find them. Guess I will have to keep picking my Clove Currant bush (missouriensis).