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Red Currant Jelly
I think that currants are one of the lesser-known fruits that people don't really know what to do with. I had no idea what I would do with them either when I bought them for the first time last year. I googled (of course) and the most common recipe was for red currant jelly. So that's what I made. It was so good that I decided I would make more this year.
It's so easy to make. First you give them all a good rinse in a colander and put them in a pot--twigs and all. Add a bit of water to just cover them. Heat the berries until you are able to mash them and get the juices flowing.  The next thing you need to do is put the mixture into a sieve covered with a cheesecloth. Let the juices drip into a bowl for a couple of hours. After the juices have cooled and have mostly dripped out I like to squeeze out the remainder to get as much juice out that I can.  The next step is to put the juice back into the pot and to bring it up to a boil. For 4 cups of red currant juice I used 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tsp of pectin. This step depends on the brand of pectin that you have purchased. I like using Pomona's Universal Pectin. I like this brand because it is a sugar-free, preservative-free, with a low-methoxyl citrus pectin that is activated by calcium water (recipe in the box). Since it does not require sugar to jell, jams and jellies can be made with less, little, or no sugar. Some other possible sweeteners are honey, sucanat, fruit sweetener, maple syrup, agave, stevia, splenda, etc.. (www.pomonapectin.com) For instance, I also made strawberry jam on this day and only used 3/4 cup of honey and 3 tsp pectin for 8 cups of strawberries. It worked great! Once instructions have been followed based on the pectin brand that you've purchased then it's time to can. I had one batch of red curant jelly and a batch of strawberry jam to do. I was able to fill 4 large jars and 2 smaller jars with them. I filled my jars and then put them in to boil for 10 minutes or so. Remember to sterilize your jars first and make sure that the boiling water covers the top of the filled jars when boiling.  It's also important to make sure that the jars are left alone to completely cool. I usually have them sitting on a towel on my kitchen counter for 24 hours. That's it! Enjoy!  Although red currants are really tart/sour when eaten raw they are marvelous in a jelly or used in a sauce. I love using the sweetened juice base in my fruit sauces (i.e., for pancakes) or drizzled on top of some ice cream. I've been hoping to try a new recipe this year but I didn't see any currants at the market yesterday. Could it be that the season is already over? I hope not!  related searches : Red
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