Tag: recipes

 This should be our best year ever for blackcurrants! We’ve never had so many, I can’t wait for hem to ripen! I’m out in the garden every day checking on them and picking any that are ripe, popping them straight in the freezer to use later. When we moved into our little house 6 years ago, there was an overgrown bush half covering the front door and dropping these little berries all over the floor. Whilst we were moving furniture and boxes into the house, many got trampled into the carpet and I vowed that this bush was going to be dug out and disposed of as soon as I had the chance! After realising that they were actually blackcurrants, I had a change of heart and decided to keep it.  Tried to cut it back and train it into a suitable shape but it still dropped berries by the front door and the berries were few and far between and very small. I decided that it needed a new home with more sunshine. My Grandma told me that moving it was as simple as cutting off the stems and pushing them into the ground so that’s exactly what I did. All but 1 stem took and turned into a little bush of its own and I learnt to prune them properly. The first year after they were moved we didn’t get much but that was to be expected. Last year we had quite a few berries but not masses. This year, however, every bush has gone mad! My grandparents used to grow all sorts of fruit and veg in their garden, including blackcurrants and homemade blackcurrant jam was a staple. My Grandma and Mum used to make hot blackcurrant drinks using a spoonful of the jam and mixing it with slightly cooled boiled water, then strained through a tea strainer. I can’t wait to make my own jam (hopefully!) this year. If we have enough blackcurrants, I’d like to try some sort of cordial or sauce too. Now to find some recipes…