Solbær- og ripssaft – Black and red currant drink

Tags

Black currants, Cold drink, Currants, Food, Hot drink, Recipe, Red currants, Saft, Summer drink

My parents have several bushes of black and red currants and I was so excited to get my hands on them this year. I was very disappointed. From in all 10 bushes (or thereabout) we ended up with only half a litre of black currants and half a litre of red. I was first set on making jam. With those small amounts I figured jam would last longer and could thus be enjoyed far into next year, if used sparsely. But then I came across a blogger who talked about the benefits of black currant ‘saft’ during colds or flus during the winter. I wouldn’t get many drops of ‘saft’, but what I got will be worth it’s weight in gold when winter sets in. I thus decided on ‘saft’. 

Here is what you need: I had about 650grams of berries and simply halfed the amount, added a comma and litre instead of kilos for the measurement, resulting in (650/2=325) 3,25 dl of water. Divide the weight of the fruit by 3 to find how much sugar you need (650/3= approximately 200grams of sugar).

For one kilo of berries you then need:

•  half a litre of water (1000gr/2=500) 5 dl
• about 330 grams of sugar (1000/3=333)

Add the berries and water to a pot and let it boil for about ten minutes. Add a muslin cloth to a pasta drainer (or similar) put this over a bowl and sieve the ‘saft’ through the cloth. Tie the corners of the cloth together, and hang it over the bowl and remove the pasta drainer. Hang it for about an hour or until it is so cold that you can squeeze what remains of the juice out of the cloth. 

Put the juice back into a pot and add the sugar. Heat it until the sugar has dissolver and leave to cool under a lid. Add to boxes (for freezing) or sterilised jars or bottles (for storage).

When the winter comes with its viruses and colds you will now have some proper c-vitamin shockers to aid your immune system. Drink it hot or cold and enjoy! 🙂

Berries in my parents’ garden

Tags

berries, Black currants, Gooseberries, Picking berries, Raspberries, Red currants

Last weekend we spent a day at my parents’ place, or rather in their garden. They were about to leave for a week long vacation and had no intention of using the many berries in their garden. I thus took Husband and Son with me and picked clean almost every bush.

It’s has not been a very good spring or summer for certain types of berries. I had hoped to find at least a few litres of blueberries, but they were scarce, sour, and small. The currants, black and red, were also scarce this year, and we only found about half a litre of each (despite the 6 bushed of black currant!).

My mother helped relieve the gooseberry bush from its heavy burden

One bush that really surprised me was the gooseberry bush. Never before have I seen a gooseberry bush carry as many berries. Each wee branch was heavy from the big berries. They hung like clusters of grapes. Unfortunately though, I believe I am the only one in the house who likes the taste of gooseberry products, and after about ten litres of berries we decided to stop.

During a short visit at my grandparents’ we picked about half a litre of raspberries.

Recipes to follow 🙂

Berries in the backyard

Tags

berries, Black currants, Garden, Gooseberries, Norway, Red currants

As mentioned some time ago, my parents live in a rural town not too far from here. They still live in the house I grew up in, which is surrounded by quite a big garden. I’m not talking farm-size, but big enough for some fruit trees, bushes with different types of berries, a small play-house, and more than enough space to roam around.

Black currants

Every year around this time the garden is full of berries. I tell myself every year that I will take advantage of this and gather the fruits and berries. But for some reason it is never first on my to-do list when the season comes around. This year I have a few gooseberries in the freezer, as well as a few red currants, all picked my parents. Time will show what I’ll use them for.

Red currants

Plum season is here now, which is a true sign that summer has come to an end, and autumn is taking over. We bought, and ate, almost a kilo of them today. Opals, the best kind. Soon the fruit vendors in the city will display a vast variety of delicious plums and apples. I can’t wait.

Gooseberries