North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["loneroc" <loneroc@countryspeed.com>]

Howdy all,

My Titania black currant looked mostly ripe so I harvested today.  The plant 
was spreading widely so I cut the fruiting branches at ground level and 
figured that the new stems coming along will be the better for it.

Here are my questions:

Can/should I leave the fruit on the stem for a few days so all the fruit 
ripens?  Or do I need to strip the currants off the stem?  I plan to make 
preserves from it. I thought that dehydrating the fruit a bit might 
concentrate flavour?

I know that you want immature fruit in the mix for most jellies but currants 
are very rich in pectin anyway.  Will including the immature fruit decrease 
the quality of the finished product?

Thanks

Steve Herje, Lone Rock WI USDA zone 3/4