Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: JohnB47 on July 21, 2013, 14:16
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OK, it's a glut as far as I'm concerned. :tongue2:
I have one bush which has given me five large punnets of red currants and I'm struggling to get them all off the sprigs (I cut them, sprigs and all, from the plant as I heard somewhere that they store better that way.
I've just spent 30 mins pulling them off the stalks, for a relative small result and it's driving me mad. I'm shortly going to have the same problem with black currants.
How do people do this? I'm wondering about perhaps just simmering them all down, sprigs and all, to produce a pulp then sieving them to remove the stalks. I'll maybe freeze that it batches for future use.
Any ideas how to prepare small fruit like these? Thanks.
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We have ten bushes for blackcurrants and two redcurrants and we are drowing, red currants can be harvested very successfully with a fork however our blackcurrants refuse to be harvested this way and we have resorted to stripping a bush per night. Much to hubbies disgust as he hates the picking. Its not a man job apparently.
I jellied a fair few blackcurrants as then you sieve out the stems etc. The rest are sat in the freezer until i come up with a millionand one fab ideas of what to do with them.
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That's how I do it JohnB - I just rinse the lot in a colander first to remove dirt and dust, pick out leaves and twigs, then chuck the rest into the pot, stems and all. Once the fruit is boiled soft I strain them in a fine mesh colander for juice. You can make jelly right away, juice, or simply freeze the juice for use later in the year when you have time (and ideas).
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John do as BQ suggests and freeze them. You can then make summer puddings, jam and jelly all through the winter months. I think Aunt Sally does a fine currant wine.
(Strip the berries off the stalks by running a fork through them).
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Thanks folks.
Seems like a good plan. I suppose I should be grateful for a good crop but it's a bit overwhelming too - I hate to waste any :unsure:
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Thanks folks.
Seems like a good plan. I suppose I should be grateful for a good crop but it's a bit overwhelming too - I hate to waste any :unsure:
After I took 6kg of my bush! I left the rest for the birds.
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You left the rest for the birds. :ohmy: :ohmy:
My OH arm/wing wrestles the birds for blackcurrants. We have only got a couple of young plants in pots at the moment until himself gets the ground at the lotty up to scratch. They were part of his retirement present.
Blackcurrants are OH's most favourite fruit in the whole wide world.
We have had a few blackcurrants.
Can we come and armwrestle your birds for some more. :lol: :D
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You left the rest for the birds. :ohmy: :ohmy:
My OH arm/wing wrestles the birds for blackcurrants. We have only got a couple of young plants in pots at the moment until himself gets the ground at the lotty up to scratch. They were part of his retirement present.
Blackcurrants are OH's most favourite fruit in the whole wide world.
We have had a few blackcurrants.
Can we come and armwrestle your birds for some more. :lol: :D
You can pop in and strip mine
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Wish I was near enough to do that BQ. :lol: :lol:
Spent several wonderful holidays in Somerset. :)
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Wish I was near enough to do that BQ. :lol: :lol:
Spent several wonderful holidays in Somerset. :)
I can post them if you like :lol:
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I think you have enough to contend with your family and the forth coming event. :D :lol:
Thanks for the offer tho' :lol: :D
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Mrs Bee Ive nearly (not quite) 7Kg. My freezer isn't big enough for more.
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Mrs Bee Ive nearly (not quite) 7Kg. My freezer isn't big enough for more.
I have 3 freezers with a 13 cubic foot capacity. :)
Although I do sometimes find I run out of space too. :wub:
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Mrs Bee Ive nearly (not quite) 7Kg. My freezer isn't big enough for more.
I have 3 freezers with a 13 cubic foot capacity. :)
Although I do sometimes find I run out of space too. :wub:
I'd need a bigger house 8)
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I did 6.6kg over the weekend - mostly into the freezer and one batch of ice cream :happy: OH informs me that is about a quarter :ohmy: of the crop. Of red currents. Then there are the black currents and gooseberries .... raspberries and not very many (because they didnt get weeded!) strawberries. Errr ..... :wub: :unsure: :wacko:
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I did 6.6kg over the weekend - mostly into the freezer and one batch of ice cream :happy: OH informs me that is about a quarter :ohmy: of the crop. Of red currents. Then there are the black currents and gooseberries .... raspberries and not very many (because they didnt get weeded!) strawberries. Errr ..... :wub: :unsure: :wacko:
Get out the jars and bottles. :D :D
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I did 6.6kg over the weekend - mostly into the freezer and one batch of ice cream :happy: OH informs me that is about a quarter :ohmy: of the crop. Of red currents. Then there are the black currents and gooseberries .... raspberries and not very many (because they didnt get weeded!) strawberries. Errr ..... :wub: :unsure: :wacko:
Oh, lucky you! :) :)
I can't wait until OH has finished working on the fruit plot on the lotty and we can get our fruit bushes out of pots and into the ground with a few more bushes.
We have had a good crop of goosegogs and a big bowl full of blackcurrants. The blackcurrants were Big Ben I think, and were really big and sweet enough to eat straight from the bush without any sugar. Can't wait until we get a glut of those. :)
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Ours started out as £1 plants from Aldi (or poundstretcher or something like that) - two goosegogs and 1 each of the others. I then took a few cuttings when they were pruned and then ... ::) Now there are 5 or 6 of each and I am banned :ohmy: from begging a white currant cutting or two. :( Meanie, he is. Unfortunately, he is also right! ::) but I have a cunning plan .... ;)
The redcurrent icecream is wonderful. I'm going to have a go at your Crème fraiche sorbet tonight (see recipes thread) which I bet will be brilliant too.
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My blackcurrant bush was a cheapo from Wilko and it's been the best few quid I ever spent. I was underneath the bush yesterday, with my punnets, in the searing heat, gently picking so as not to drop or damage a single berry. It was a relaxing job, if not a bit back breaking, but there's worse jobs :D
Today I shall mostly be making jam. I made my first ever jam last year, from blackcurrants, and it was the best I've ever tasted. Can't wait to do it all over again :)
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I have 3 various berry trees +3 blueberry trees but no where near enough to worry about a surplus.
The Tayberry plant has browning fringes on the leaves ??????
Cheers
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Glad you like the recipes. I have a few ices made and stored in the freezer, and I have a new toy to play with... a waffle cone maker. :)
I have some josta berries ripening and they are crying out to be made into icecream or sorbet.
Not exactly a glut tho'. :(
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I sat this morning with bags, colanders, scissors, knife, tray, cuppa, telly, fan on and dealt with my pile of blackcurrants. While performing my mindless task I watched the new baby goings-on on the telly, which made the job less tedious.
The jam is now bubbling on the stove, with the sugar just added. Better get back to it in case it burns :ohmy:
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I seem to spend a great deal of time doing the same sorts of things CQ.
My fingers are still black from yesterdays broad beans :lol:
I don't leave the kitchen while I have jams and chutneys bubbling, I have been caught out a couple of times. :ohmy:
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It's good to sit sometimes and do these intensive little chores. Mind you I was lucky that no-one came to the door as usually happens, usually when I'm soaking my feet. Perhaps I could have done the two jobs at the same time :lol:
You have to stick with the jam once you've embarked on it (pardon the pun) and it takes quite a while from start to finish. Once I'd completed the job I then had to embark on fresh scones so we could test the jam :tongue2:
It's a very thick jam! I like mine with a little less give but hey it's done now. Slice of jam anyone? :D
Here they are, my finished jam pots
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A slice of jam is so under rated, we often have slces on scones :lol:
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Oh, indeed you just have to make some scones to test the jam for quality control ::) ::)
Blackcurrant jam can go a little stiff if you leave it just a couple of minutes too long.
I am sure yours will be gorgeous. We go blackcurrant picking at the moment until we have our fruit plot done and organised and OH prefers me to freeze them for tarts, pies, ices and cheesecakes... oh an mousses too.
However I am going through the freezers and using up the remaining fruit to make into jam so I have space to put the son's food for his birthday bash. I am feeling my age at the moment and need to spread the workload.
So maybe I can get away with using some of the blackcurrants for jam so long as I use it for the cupboard and not for sale :D
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I did 6.6kg over the weekend - mostly into the freezer and one batch of ice cream :happy: OH informs me that is about a quarter :ohmy: of the crop. Of red currents. Then there are the black currents and gooseberries .... raspberries and not very many (because they didnt get weeded!) strawberries. Errr ..... :wub: :unsure: :wacko:
Buy some Jam Jars and get Jamming. :D
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I did 6.6kg over the weekend - mostly into the freezer and one batch of ice cream :happy: OH informs me that is about a quarter :ohmy: of the crop. Of red currents. Then there are the black currents and gooseberries .... raspberries and not very many (because they didnt get weeded!) strawberries. Errr ..... :wub: :unsure: :wacko:
Buy some Jam Jars and get Jamming. :D
Madcat already posted to say she has a cunning plan Bob ;)
but I have a cunning plan .... ;)
The redcurrent icecream is wonderful. I'm going to have a go at your Crème fraiche sorbet tonight (see recipes thread) which I bet will be brilliant too.
The sorbet sounds good :) May have to go and check that one out myself :D
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Right, got that! Left for too long. Thanks for that. I had just convinced myself that it was because the fruit was so concentratedly fruity that it caused it to be too thick :D It is lovely and there are still lots of whole berries in there. I just had some on my breakfast rye toast :tongue2: :tongue2: :tongue2: :tongue2:
I am going to make a cheesecake type mousse with some of the remaining blackcurrants, whizzed up with low fat cottage cheese and no sugar jelly