Our allotment came with heaving bushes of ripe black currants. I made it a priority to strip them off the bushes but when faced with several kilos of black currants I was at a bit of a loss. There will be jam this weekend but I wanted to make something as soon as I got the first haul home. I decided on cordial, simple, fast and it meant we were enjoying the fruits of our allotment the very same day we took it over.
I really did not want to add sugar to the black currants, I'd hoped if I reduced the currants enough there would be enough sugar in the black currants to get a nice thick syrup and then I could boast 100% blackcurrant syrup. The reduction was thick but it was sour, super sour. The black currants weren't sour when I was eating them off the bush but when you reduce them the flavours intensify and the sour notes were very strong.
I received some Natvia sweetener at a recent food blogging conference and hadn't used it, it mellowed out this cordial nicely and the result was a rich fruity cordial with a light tang, that wasn't overly sweet. I'll have to keep working on a no added sugar/sweetener recipe.
This cordial will only keep for a couple of weeks because it doesn't have any preservatives in it. The recipe makes a small bottle so I'm sure you'll soon drink it up. I've been serving it diluted with sparkling water.
Ingredients (makes 200ml)
500g ripe black currants
200ml of water
2 Tbsp Natvia natural sweetener
Rinse off the black currants and pick out any large bits of stem. If you plan to use the remaining pulp you may also want to discard the the dried base of the black currant that used to be it's flower.
Simmer the black currants with the water and sweetener for about 20 minutes. Until they become thick and sticky.
Strain the mixture through a muslin bag into a bowl. This takes about an two hours. You can squeeze the bag to get the juice through more quickly but black currant juice stains so be prepared for purple hands.
Transfer the juice into a sterilised bottle with an air tight seal.
When diluting use a ratio of 1 part black currant cordial to 8 parts water.
This cordial will only keep for a couple of weeks because it doesn't have any preservatives in it. The recipe makes a small bottle so I'm sure you'll soon drink it up. I've been serving it diluted with sparkling water.
What's your favourite black currant recipe?
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| Black Currant Cordial |
I really did not want to add sugar to the black currants, I'd hoped if I reduced the currants enough there would be enough sugar in the black currants to get a nice thick syrup and then I could boast 100% blackcurrant syrup. The reduction was thick but it was sour, super sour. The black currants weren't sour when I was eating them off the bush but when you reduce them the flavours intensify and the sour notes were very strong.
I received some Natvia sweetener at a recent food blogging conference and hadn't used it, it mellowed out this cordial nicely and the result was a rich fruity cordial with a light tang, that wasn't overly sweet. I'll have to keep working on a no added sugar/sweetener recipe.
This cordial will only keep for a couple of weeks because it doesn't have any preservatives in it. The recipe makes a small bottle so I'm sure you'll soon drink it up. I've been serving it diluted with sparkling water.
 |
| Black currants in the pan |
Ingredients (makes 200ml)
500g ripe black currants
200ml of water
2 Tbsp Natvia natural sweetener
Rinse off the black currants and pick out any large bits of stem. If you plan to use the remaining pulp you may also want to discard the the dried base of the black currant that used to be it's flower.
Simmer the black currants with the water and sweetener for about 20 minutes. Until they become thick and sticky.
Strain the mixture through a muslin bag into a bowl. This takes about an two hours. You can squeeze the bag to get the juice through more quickly but black currant juice stains so be prepared for purple hands.
Transfer the juice into a sterilised bottle with an air tight seal.
When diluting use a ratio of 1 part black currant cordial to 8 parts water.
This cordial will only keep for a couple of weeks because it doesn't have any preservatives in it. The recipe makes a small bottle so I'm sure you'll soon drink it up. I've been serving it diluted with sparkling water.
What's your favourite black currant recipe?