Topic: recipe wanted for blackcurrant juice

[tomatoada]

I have so many blackcurrants I would like to use some of them to make a drink similar to ribena.  Has anyone got a recipe and how long would it keep?  Thanks for any onfo..

[Mrs Ava]

Googled Blackcurrant cordial recipe and found this one:

Home made blackcurrant cordial

1) Put fruit in bowl and crush with wooden spoon
2) Add about half pint water to each pound of fruit.
3) Cook slowly, crushing occasionally with spoon.
4) Strain through sieve.
5) Add one pound sugar to each pint juice.
6) Cool, and store in sterilized bottles, in the fridge.
7) Add hot or cold water when you want to drink it.
8) It will store safely for about 2 weeks if kept in the fridge.


Bet there are more out there that last longer.  You could freeze the cordial though, I do that with elderflower cordial, just in plastic bottles and don't fill them to much.

[Jeannine]

I have recipes for fruit juices that are sealed in canning (bottling jars) then processed in a water bath, they will then stay good for years,you can sweeten it or not depending on you preference, but you will need to process it in order to keep it for any length of time.

For any berries.

Crush and put  in large pan, heat to 185 degrees F, drain and drip through several layers of muslin to get a clear juice, if you wish to sweeten it do so at the rate of 1 part sugar to 9 parts juice by volume.

To preserve it, heat the cleared juice to 140F pour into hot sterilised jars with screw top 2 piece lids,leave 1/4 inch headspace.

Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes for 1 pint jars .

To use a boiling water bath if someone is not familiar with it: Put the filled hot jars on a rack in a tall pan, cover the jars by at least 1 inch of very hot water. Bring the pan to the boil, when it it is at a full boil time for the required length of processing time.

When done, turn off heat and using tongs carefully remove the hot jars from the water onto a towel and let them cool. You will hear them go ping as they cool and the lids snap down.

When they are cold, check they are sealed by looking at the lid, there will be a depression on a sealed lid and if you tap is with as spoon it lets out a clear ding, an unsealed jar does a thud!!

Sealed jars will keep for a very long time,if there are any that don't seal which is rare, use those ones within a week or two.

If you want to make the blackcurrants into a syrup  for poring on pancakes or ice cream get back to me for a different recipe

XX Jeannine

[tomatoada]

Thanks both.  Will try both ways.  Seems a pity to waste the currants and I have so many this year.