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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Blackcurrqant Cassis

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  • From: Lee Reich <garden@leereich.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Blackcurrqant Cassis
  • Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 17:06:44 -0500

We made something very similar to what you describe. I thought it was awful, an affront to blackcurrants (which I usually just eat raw), and tasted nothing like cassis (which I enjoy especially drizzled over pawpaw flesh that's been sieved into custard cups, then chilled). To me, the taste of the faux cassis was something like cough syrup. Each to his own . . .

Lee Reich, PhD

Books by Lee Reich:
The Pruning Book
Weedless Gardening
Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
A Northeast Gardener's Year


On Dec 6, 2007, at 11:56 AM, Thomas Olenio wrote:

Hello All,
 
Tom suggested I post this cassis recipe, so here it goes. We are leaving 
this with a friend who will be staying at our farm when we are away for the 
next few weeks. Hopefully she can catch the currants before the birds dive 
in and ransack the bushes. I found this in a wonderful book - " The Cook and 
the Gardner" by Amanda Hesser, A Year of Recipes and Writings from the 
French Countryside.
 
You can make this in any amount, you just need to be really accurate about 
quantities / proportion for the juice and the sugar. It is made in two 
parts, at picking time and then about 4 to 6 months later. We usually 
complete part two late November or early December when it's really a 
disgusting grey, rainy day and enjoy having the fruit smells all through the 
house. The tasting is also kind of fun. We drizzled pot scrapings over 
biscotti and they were heavenly.
 
MADAME MILBERT'S CASSIS
Makes 2 One-Quart MasonJars
 
PART ONE
 
Ingredients
Enough black currants to fill the jars ( about 3 to 4 cups per jar )
Eau-de-vie or vodka ( the alcohol countent should be 80 proof  ) to cover 
the currants - usually 3 to 3 1/2 cups per jar
 
Sterilize the jars with boiling water and dry them with a clean towel. 
Loosely pack the black currants in the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at 
the top of each jar. Cover with eau-de-vie or vodka and seal. Store for 4 to 
6 months .
 
PART TWO
 
You will need sterilized wine bottles and some corks.
Be very accurate when measuring the proportion of juice to sugar.
 
Bring the fruit and eau-de-vie or vodka mixture to a boil in a saucepan. 
Strain the juice into a large bowl, crushing the fruit with the back of a 
large spoon to extract the maximum amount of juice. Measure the juice you 
obtain, then measure out an equal amount of sugar. For every quart of black 
currant juice, for example, add one quart of sugar and one cup of eau-de-vie 
or vodka.
 
Combine them in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook until the sugar has 
completely dissolved and the mixture turns thick and syrupy, coating the 
back of a spoon. This takes about ten minutes. As the mixture cooks and the 
sugar dissolves, the liquid turns glossy. As it nears the perfect stage, it 
drips from the spoon in a thin, syrupy thread. Remember, it will thicken 
slightly as it cools and should reamin liquid, so do not bring to a jelly 
stage.
 
Pour through a funnel into sterilized wine bottles. Let cool and seal with 
corks. The bottles are best for pouring.
 
Comment: When we made this two years ago, it turned quite thick, so we added 
a small amount of vodka which brought it back to syrupy. There's no 
comparison when you do a taste test with the store-bought product.
 
Enjoy!

 

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