In our quest to avoid the aspartame (see the post here on our reasons why) I’ve scoured the books looking for ways to make some of our produce into cordials. This week I brought home a few blackcurrants from Callan community garden and made this delicious summer juice in just 15 minutes.
The refreshing recipe below (published in The Guardian recently) doesn’t make a huge amount – 400g of blackcurrants makes about 750ml concentrate cordial, but it reminded me of childhood summers and drinks as they used to taste before they became chemical cocktails. If you’re growing blackcurrants, know anyone with a blackcurrant bush or spot any in your local farmers market, it’s well worth trying and a lovely way to use the fruit.
Just a quick word of warning if you’re growing these sharp little fruit that are packed full of vitamin C in your garden or allotment, they’re prone to attack from a little caterpillar that’s the larvae of the gooseberry sawfly so do keep an eye out or you could lose them all in a couple of days.
Ingredients
- 500g blackcurrants
- 275g sugar
- 250ml water
- ½ tsp citric acid
Method
- Simmer the sugar, blackcurrants and water in a heavy based pan gently for 5 minutes.
- Using a potato masher, break up the fruit to release as much juice as possible. Add the citric acid and simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Strain the liquid through a piece of muslin and pour it into a sterilised bottle and keep it in the fridge. If you can’t find muslin anywhere, a fine sieve will strain the largest of the remaining pulp but the liquid wont be as clear.
- The remaining pulp can be saved and used to flavour natural yoghurt.
If the strawberry cordial is anything to go by, I’m looking forward to trying this blackcurrant juice as a mixer in something sparkly soon…
Dee Sewell – a horticulturalist and certified trainer who started Greenside Up in 2009 and teaches people how to grow vegetables. Dee specialises in working with community gardens but also offers workshops, allotment visits, consultations, horticultural therapy, afterschools clubs as well as local talks – she tailors her services to meet clients needs. In 2012 Dee launched a Seed Gift Collection containing varieties of vegetable and insect friendly flowers with the aim of getting more people growing. Dee’s blog was a finalist in the 2012 Ireland Blog Awards in the Eco/Green and Lifestyle Categories.
Source: Greenside Up – How to Make Blackcurrant Juice – Dee Sewell
