currant ideas? and a few comments

19 years ago

Hi there,

Have been away awhile...been busy in my other "season" which is sewing.

But now with spring around the corner , I need to start planning this year's garden and canning adventures. Last year with the help of all you good people om this forum, I canned and froze more than I have ever done. The advice and helps were very encouraging. What is surprising me this spring is how much canned goods we have gone through this winter. I am going to run out of alot of "stuff". 24 pints salsa-gone. pizza sauce-gone. potatos-gone. apple butter-gone. green beans-rationing. fruits-running low. Well, you get the picture. Last year was over 500 cans of produce and this year I 'm thinking I'll have to plan to do more. Gonna make for a busy fall!

Anyhow, I should ask my question. I found a gallon size bag of currants in my freezer from last year. Didn't want to deal with the berries then so I froze them. The only thing I've ever done wit5h them is make currant jelly. I'd like to try something different. Any ideas on fruit combos that will work with the berries for a jelly, sauce, anything? Really don't want to end up throwing these out.

Thanks ahead of time! :)

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Comments (6)

bejay9_10
19 years ago
Last summer - toward the end of harvest season, I found a lot of odds and ends that I wanted to can. One dwarf apple tree had quite a few small apples, there were a few strawberries and boysen berries that were last of season too - just a few of this and that mainly.

So I combined these fruits and canned or froze them in combination.

One sauce in particular is plums. So I have been using it for things like dump cakes. Yesterday, made a nice chocolate box cake and used the plums for filling and frosting - just thickened it with corn starch, and used some with powdered sugar based frosting - my kids loved it.

I noticed on the Cooking Forum - a recipe for Danish pastry - I think the plums would be a nice addition for topping there too.

What about a fruit leather for your currants?

Just a few c's.

Bejay
readinglady
19 years ago
Last season I made a raspberry-currant preserve that instantly advanced to "favorite." Definitely a keeper. It calls for whole raspberries and currant juice, which resulted in a lovely preserve with great flavor.

I've also made currant liqueur and have been using it in small amounts to enhance the flavor of frozen berries in desserts. Also you could make a currant syrup which is a nice addition to smoothies or sparkling water. (Right now it's a little chilly to be thinking about that but it's sure to warm up eventually!)

Carol
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ksrogers
19 years ago
Current wine.. Its a very tasty one if you have enough juice for a couple of gallons. If its for a jelly, the gallon of berries will make only a few quarts of jelly. Maybe time to invest in a second freezer?? My dad did that years ago, so he never ran out of space.
marian-m
Original Author
19 years ago
Readinglady,
The liquor and raspberry/currant combo sounds good. Do you have a specific recipe to follow or do you just "wing" it? I've thought about just throwing some combo together just to see how it would work out...did that once with a relish and have never been able to repeat it. (Hubby said it was the best he ever had...and I never wrote one thing down..lol,oh well)

KS...thought about the wine idea. My brother-in-law makes wine so if need be, I can just pass these currants on to him. I was hoping to find a creative use for us first though.
Thanx!
readinglady
19 years ago
Hi Marian, I'm coming on too late to do anything about it tonight, but I can post the raspberry-currant preserves. The recipe is quite specific, from Madelaine Bullwinkel. Her preserves are very, very good.

I think I can remember what I did with the liqueur. I'll have to see if I made notes. I'll check in tomorrow and post if you're interested.

Carol
led_zep_rules
19 years ago
I once made a red currant/black raspberry fruit crisp that a friend yelled at me about. It was during Lent, and she had given up dessert for Lent, but felt compelled to eat my fruit crisp. It was VERY good. I have often made them from frozen fruit, no problem there.

I use a simple topping that is 6 Tbs. flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts and 2/3 cup quick oats. Mix them well, then add 5 Tbs. canola oil and stir well, if not gooey enough add a few spoonfuls of water until it a good consistency for spreading over the fruit. For the fruit itself stir in a little flour and sugar to taste, up to 1/2 cup. Makes one pie sized container. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then 400 for about 10 or until turning golden brown on top. It is very tasty.

I also sometimes cook currants into black raspberry jam if I want to avoid adding pectin.

Marcia