Blackcurrants, white currants and redcurrants everywhere – string after string of ripe currants dangling from the bushes in our Currant and Berry garden, pleading to be picked.
We’ve had to cover the rows with netting to protect our precious crop from the flocks of birds who are just waiting to descend to polish them off.
We make hoops with black plastic pipes to support the netting, a simple structure, very effective if not very glamorous.
All currants ripen gradually from the top down, could be black, red or white currants on strings.
One can harvest by the bunch or strip them off by running your fingers from top to bottom, holding a bowl underneath to catch the berries.
Eat as many as you can while they are fresh, but all of these currants freeze brilliantly and the best news is that they don’t need to be strung first. I discovered this quite by accident in the midst of the season a few years when we were super busy.
The fruit was ripe, but we simply couldn’t manage to find the time to string. So, we just popped them into freezer bags and decided we’d worry about stringing them in the winter!
To my astonishment and delight, I discovered when we shook the bags of frozen berries the strings all became detached – a welcome surprise.
In my experience, currants and berries freeze much better than strawberries and when defrosted are almost as good as fresh. So, if you don’t already grow currants and berry bushes, put a note in your diary to order some to plant in the autumn.
Best grown in the ground in rich fertile soil but a bush will thrive perfectly well outside in the largest pot you can find.
Every year, I look forward to hot poached blackcurrants with icy cold cream, you can’t imagine how delicious and such a surprise for guests after supper.
Just as main course is finishing, pop the blackcurrants into the syrup (1 pint of water and 1 pint of sugar) bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit bursts, turn into a tureen, serve in little bowls with a jug of icy cold cream, so surprising, a real flavour sensation. The remainder of the compote will keep in the fridge for maybe two weeks, and I love to drizzle some over a bowl of natural yoghurt at breakfast.
Alternatively, just purée, sieve out the pips in a nylon sieve and fold in softly whipped cream to taste to make a blackcurrant fool. Serve with shortbread biscuits (two, four, six,) two ounces of caster sugar, 4 ounces of butter, 6 ounces of plain white flour, 10 minutes in a moderate 180°C, Gas Mark 4.
Frosted red and white currants are also delicious to decorate wee buns, a sponge cake or a fruit bowl. Enjoy the currants and berries while they last….
Redcurrant or White Currant Jelly
Redcurrant jelly is a very delicious and versatile product to have in your larder. It has a myriad of uses. It can be used like a jam on bread or scones, or served as an accompaniment to roast lamb, bacon or ham. It is also good with some rough pâtés and game and is invaluable as a glaze for red fruit tarts. White currants are rarer and more difficult to source; they too make delicious jelly that we use in a similar way.
This recipe is a particular favourite of mine, not only because it’s fast to make and results in delicious intensely flavoured jelly, but because one can use the left over pulp to make a fruit tart, so one gets double value from the redcurrants. Unlike most other fruit jelly, no water is needed in this recipe.
We’ve used frozen fruits for this recipe also, stir over the heat until the sugar dissolves, proceeds as below. You can use white currants – which will be difficult to find unless you have your own bush. The white currant version is wonderful with cream cheese as a dessert or makes a perfect accompaniment to lamb, pork or venison.
Makes 3 x 450g jars
Ingredients
900g redcurrants or white currants
790g granulated sugar
Method
Remove the strings from the redcurrants either by hand or with a fork. Put the redcurrants and sugar into a wide stainless steel saucepan and stir continuously until they come to the boil. Boil for exactly 8 minutes, stirring only if they appear to be sticking to the bottom. Skim carefully.
Turn into a nylon sieve and allow to drip through, do not push the pulp through or the jelly will be cloudy. You can stir in gently once or twice just to free the bottom of the sieve of pulp.
Pour the jelly into sterilised pots immediately. Redcurrants are very high in pectin so the jelly will begin to set just as soon as it begins to cool.
Summer Currant and Berry Fruit Salad with Sweet Geranium Leaves
Sweet geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens) and many other varieties of scented geraniums are every present on our windowsills here at Ballymaloe. We use the delicious lemon scented leaves in all sorts of ways, occasionally we use the pretty purple flowers also to enliven and add magic to otherwise simple dishes. The crystallized leaves, all frosty and crinkly are wonderful with fresh cream cheese and fat juicy blackberries.
I discovered this recipe which has now become a perennial favourite quite by accident a few Summers’ ago as I raced to make a pudding in a hurry with the ingredients I had at that moment.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
110g raspberries
110g loganberries
110g redcurrants
110g blackcurrants
110g small strawberries
110g blueberries
110g fraises du bois or wild strawberries
110g blackberries
Syrup
325g sugar
450ml water
6-8 large sweet geranium leaves
Method
Put all the freshly picked berries into a
white china or glass bowl. Put the
sugar, water and sweet geranium leaves into a stainless steel saucepan and
bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil for just 2 minutes. Cool for 4-5 minutes then pour the hot syrup
over the fruit and allow to macerate for several hours. Remove the geranium leaves. Serve chilled, with softly-whipped cream or
Vanilla Ice-cream or alone. Garnish with
a few fresh sweet geranium leaves.
Summer Berry Jelly with Sweet Geranium Leaves with Sweet Geranium Cream
Sometimes when we have a berry salad left over, particularly if there is more juice than fruit we make it into a jelly. Use 4 teaspoons of gelatine to each 600ml of liquid. You’ll need 1.2 litres for a large ring mould. Turn it out carefully onto a large white china plate when it is set, fill the centre with softly whipped cream or sweet geranium cream (see recipe) and decorate with geranium leaves.
Sweet Geranium Cream
Ingredients
4-5 sweet geranium leaves approx.
1 tbsp lemon juice
150ml cream
sugar to taste, optional
Method
Crush the leaves in a pestle and mortar with the lemon juice, add the cream and stir, (the lemon juice will thicken the cream, if the cream becomes too thick add a little water.)
Taste, if too bitter add a little sugar,
remember the sauce should be tart.
Summer Cake with Frosted Redcurrants and Mint Leaves
A super easy base cake which can be tweaked in a myriad of ways depending on the season.
Serves 8 – 10
Ingredients
175g soft butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs, preferably free range
175g self-raising flour
1 tbsp milk (optional)
Lemon Icing
225g icing sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2-4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
To Decorate
frosted redcurrants and fresh mint leaves
1 x 20.5cm sandwich tin, buttered and floured. Line the base of the tin with parchment paper.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Put the soft butter, caster sugar, eggs and self-raising flour into the bowl of a food processor. Whizz for a few seconds to amalgamate – it should be a soft dropping consistency, add a little more milk if necessary. Turn into the prepared tin – make a dip in the centre so it rises evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes approx. or until golden brown and well risen.
Cool in the tin for a few minutes, remove and cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile make the icing.
Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the finely grated lemon zest and enough lemon juice to make a softish icing.
Garnish with frosted redcurrants and fresh mint leaves or scatter on some chopped pistachio if desired. Serve on a pretty plate.
Frosted Red, White or Blackcurrants
Whisk an egg white until barely beginning to froth. Dip a string of perfect redcurrants into the egg white, carefully shake off excess but make sure currants are evenly coated. Sprinkle with sieved caster sugar, allow to dry and crisp on a wire rack over a tray.