Berry Fruits

[blatanna]

Has anyone got some recipes for red currants please. My bushes were loaded with fruit this year and i would like to do something other than making jelly.

[felpec]

Oh, I love currants, but we can't grow them (prohibited by the state) .

My grandmother used to grow them and used them in muffins, pies, and anywhere she could use cranberries. I know she used to make a chunky currant sauce with orange and horseradish. Sounds weird, but it was really good.

A couple of years ago, I managed to find some at a farmer's market and made a great batch of raspberry-currant wine. It won second prize in the state homemade wine competition.

[VGary]

Red Currant Pie
Ingredients --

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon
zest
2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 1/4 cups red currants

1.
To Make Dough: In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Mix in butter, sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest until mixture forms dough. Let rest in cool place for 30 minutes.
2.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Roll out dough and put into a springform pan.
3.
Bake in oven for 25 minutes, or until golden yellow.
4.
To Make Filling: In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually stir in sugar and cornstarch; beat for 5 minutes. Fold currants into mixture and pour into pie crust.
5.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until top is lightly browned.


Currant Jam

Clean the currants, removing stems, and steam for 60 minutes to extract juice. Two pounds of cleaned currants (red, white or black) will yield about 5 cups of juice.
5 cups currant juice
7 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo
Follow directions on Certo package. Yield about 8 cups. Seal in sterilized jars.

Blackcurrant or Redcurrant Sauce

Topping for ice cream, pancakes, pound cake etc.
Take 4 lbs. of black currants (approximately 12 cups of cleaned berries). Add 3 cups water and cook for 15 minutes until soft. Put through ricer and add 3 cups sugar. Seal in sterilized jars

Blueberry- Currant Jam

5 cups crushed blueberries
4 cups sugar
1 cup red currant juice
1 pouch Certo
Boil the blueberries, sugar, and currant juice for about 5 minutes, then add 1 pouch Certo and boil 1 minute. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal.

[blatanna]

Can i just say thank you to you both for going to the trouble to post some nice recipes. The wine sounds interesting. I never thought to make muffins with them.
I am very curious to know why you cannot grow red currants.

[Mischka]

We cannot legally grow them here in Massachusetts, either.

I had a elderly local farmer that I made friends with as a young teen and although he's long passed on, his currant patch is still going strong and I visit it annually. "Thank you Mr. Stockwell."

This link explains why some of our states have the law on the books:

http://www.fruitnet.com/cgi-bin/feat...eatures.REF=54

[blatanna]

Mischka, thanks so much for posting the link to the forbidden berry site. Its so interesting to read about these things.

[Sherry_AK]

FLAVORED VINEGAR

3 c White wine vinegar
Fruit flavor
2 Tbsp Honey

Combine vinegar, fruit flavor, and honey in a 2- to 3-quart pan. Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until cool. If chosen fruit flavor contains pulp, pour liquid through fine strainer into a bowl; discard residue.

Pour vinegar through a funnel into a 1-quart bottle, plain or decorative. Close tight; let stand at least one day. Use or keep at room temperature up to 4 months. If an opaque film develops on surface, either spoon it off or pour vinegar through a fine strainer into a pan and bring to boiling. Wash bottle and then refill with vinegar. Store as before.

Fruit flavor:

Rinse and drain 4 cups fresh berries (currants (crushed), raspberries, blueberries or strawberries, hulled and sliced); or use 12 to 16 oz. frozen, unsweetened berries. Add fruit to vinegar and heat as directed above. Pour through strainer and bottle.

CRANBERRY (or CURRANT) LIQUEUR

First Day:

Crush three quarts berries in glass bowl.
Leave uncovered in refrigerator 24 hours.


Second Day:

Add a fifth of Everclear, stir. Leave covered at room temperature for 24 hours.


Third Day:

Boil 6 cups sugar and 3 cups water for 5 minutes.
Strain berries and add juice to cooled syrup.


Age 3 weeks (longer is better!)

Can use black or red currants, raspberries, blueberries, or others.

**
We can grow both red and black currants here. Although (to me) the black ones taste positively nasty right off the bush, and even have an offensive odor, they give a much better flavor in jelly and other recipes. I had been aware that it was illegal to grow black currants in many locations, but did not realize red currants were also prohibited. I learn something here every day!

[habitat_gardener]

I've been harvesting 6-8 pints from my thornless blackberry (one plant) every other day and am having fun thinking up ways to use them, besides just giving them away. I can easily eat a pint with oatmeal and vanilla soy yogurt (sometimes with blueberries, too) for breakfast -- berries and cream, one of my favorite foods. I don't have a freezer and don't have the time or facilities for canning (and wouldn't eat much jam or preserves), and don't like cakes or pies much. They're a little tart for eating out of hand. So here are some other things I've tried:

* cooking about 3 pints of berries with 2 cups of rice: Resulted in rice a lovely magenta color, with a good flavor, perfect for breakfast with some vanilla soy yogurt.

* cooking about 5 cups of berries with 1 cup of rice: Soupier, thus harder to eat as a breakfast food, and did not keep well. By day 3-4, the remainder had started to ferment. After I'd composted it, it occurred to me that I could have tried heating it up again.

* a pint of berries plus a cup or so of soynog (sweetened, cinnamon-flavor soymilk), whizzed together with hand blender: a great shake, but I wish I had an easy way to strain out the seeds. I don't have time to wait for it to seep through a strainer.

Does anyone have any other creative ideas?

[Zana]

I used to make blackberry sorbet out of it. All it took was a cup of berries and 2 cups of water, some sugar or stevia blended together and then frozen in a 9" x 9" pan until semi frozen. Then I'd scrape it all up, and re freeze, twice. Took about 2-3 hours, since that size pan doesn't hold that much. Made a good slushy too.

[Zana]

I've also made a glaze with the berries and put it on pork, or poultry.

[dustdevil]

No freezer? I would have figured you for some blackberry muffins ;-)

[Timmah!]

Ice cream. Lots & lots of ice cream.

[Sorellina]

Wow, life without a freezer. I can't quite imagine that.

I make a couple different blackberry vinegars. One is spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice (whole or large pieces in a cheesecloth bag). Use 4 cups of berries and 4 cups of white vinegar. Heat together until just bubbling at the edges but not a full boil. Allow to steep for 30 minutes before straining into a large jar. This will keep for months at room temperature, but in our house, we use it daily for a salad dressing base.

The other one I make uses white balsamic vinegar and sprigs of lemon thyme. It's also quite nice and not as sweet. The spiced one is used mostly for fall and winter salads with walnut oil for the dressing. I like it on a baby spinach salad with Asian pear, pomegranate seeds, and blue cheese.

We also have an Oregon Thornless Blackberry that we got 5 years ago as a cutting in a local plant swap. The thing is huge now and covers about 25 feet of fence. I have 6 8 cup tubs of berries in my freezer and I use a LOT of them fresh while they're producing. Freezing is just the only way to keep up with them.

You could also juice them if you wanted to reduce the volume.

[Zana]

Strawberry Lime Pie

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: Strawberry Lime Pie
Categories: Pies
Yield: 8 servings

1 x Baked 9 inch Pie Shell
2 x Envelopes unflavored Gelatin
6 oz Can frozen Limeade concentrate
1/3 c Sugar
1 t Grated Lime rind
1 c Diced Strawberries
1 c Whipping cream, whipped
1 ds Green food coloring

Bake pie shell.

Soften gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water.

Combine limeade concentrate, sugar, and 3/4 cold water in small saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until concentrate melts and sugar dissolves. Add gelatin; stir until dissolved.

Chill until syrupy.
Stir in lime rind and strawberries.
Fold in whipped cream until blended; tint pale green with food coloring.
Chill until mixture mounds when dropped from a spoon.
Place in pie shell; chill 2-3 hours until firm.

Garnish with additional sliced strawberries.

Yield about 6-8 servings.


MMMMM

[Zana]

Strawberry Mousse Cake

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

Title: Strawberry Mousse Cake
Categories: Cakes
Yield: 10 servings

MMMMM------------------------SPONGE CAKE-----------------------

3 ea Eggs, separated
1 x Pinch cream tartar
1/2 c Granulated sugar
1/4 t Grated lemon rind
1 t Vanilla
1/2 c All purpose flour
1 x Pinch salt

MMMMM------------------STRAWBERRY YOGURT MOUSSE------------------

1 1/2 ea Env unflavored gelatin
1/4 c Cold water
2 c Whole strawberries
1/3 c Granulated sugar
2 T Lemon juice
1/2 c Plain yogurt
1/2 c Whipping cream

MMMMM---------------------------SYRUP---------------------------

3 T Water
3 T Granulated sugar
2 T Strawberry or kirsch liqueur

MMMMM-----------------CREAM FROSTING AND GARNISH-----------------

2 c Strawberries
1 1/2 c Whipping cream
2 T Granulated sugar

CAKE:

Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan; set
aside.

In a large bowl beat whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks.
Gradually beat in 1/4 cup of the sugar, continuing to beat to stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl beat the yolks with remaining sugar until light yellow
and thickened.

Scrape yolks over whites, add lemon rind and vanilla and fold together. Sift
flour and salt over batter, folding in gently but thoroughly. Transfer to
prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the top springs back when
lightly touched. Let cool in pan on wire rack.

If making ahead, remove from pan and wrap well for storage at cool room
temperature for one to two days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

MOUSSE:

In a very small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over water; set aside.

Rinse, hull and puree berries. In a small saucepan combine puree, sugar and
lemon juice and heat gently just long enough to dissolve sugar. Remove from
heat.

Warm softened gelatin over low heat until clear and syrupy. Stir into
strawberry mixture. Transfer to a large bowl and chill to consistency of raw
egg white. Whisk in the yogurt.

Whip cream until form; fold into mousse and return to fridge.

SYRUP:

In a small saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, cool
and stir in liqueur.

ASSEMBLY:

Using a long serrated knife, cut cake into 2 thin layers. Place top half,
cut side up, in the button of a clean 9 inch spring pan. Drizzle half the
syrup evenly over the cut side of each of the 2 halves. Spoon strawberry
mousse over cake in pan; don't worry if mousse extends over the sides. Set
remaining layer, cut side over mousse, pressing gently.

Cover and chill thoroughly, overnight if possible. Release sides of pan, and
using a wide lifter, transfer cake to service plate, doily-lined if you've
thought that for ahead.

CREAM FROSTING AND GARNISH:

Rinse and hull berries. Slice thinly.

Whip cream until it's stiff and firm. Sweeten with sugar and spread evenly
over top and sides of cake.

Arrange berry slices in circle around the top and bottom edges of the cake.

Refrigerate until serving time, which should be within the following hour or
two.

MMMMM