North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

First I want to say how I make preserves with black currants.  I would never boil the fruit for more than a few seconds because I'm a nut for their nutrition and don't want to cook it out.  Also I'm a spoiled American squanderer of energy resources, although I'm better than most.  I don't mind freezing my jelly after I make it rather than jarring it.  

I just take the berries that I froze back when it was too hot and hectic to stand over a stove and throw them in a pot and let them thaw.  Then I stir while bringing them up to a boil while adding sugar to taste (lots of sugar!).  Once they get to boiling I take them off the stove, mash them, let the mash cool and they're done.  The jam (not preserved) will last in the fridge for at least 2 months, bigger batches require freezing some of it.

As far as maintaining size and productivity of fruit, I already tried radically opening them up and even young branches on the outside of the stands hanging by themselves are less productive with smaller fruit than what I used to get from the plants when younger.  It is not a question of ruthlessly thinning out older wood as I've always done that.   Lee Reich suggests that aging plants should be replaced with younger ones periodically and I think he nailed it.  If I haven't figured out how to prune a fruit plant for size of fruit by now I need to consult a neurologist.