Black Currants: What to Do, What to Do...

Hey everybody! Thanks for the suggestions and the well wishes for my trip to Acadia. I’m leaving bright and early this Saturday morning, and hope to tell you all about my lobstah rolls and full bellied clams when I return.

Here’s a little something to remember me by while I’m away: a cautionary tale about black currants.

See, I wasn’t too familiar with these little berries before I started loading them into my bucket at Fishkill Farms a few weeks ago. I merrily picked them from the bushes, sun warming my shoulders, me whistling away, and before you know it, I had just about half a bucket (currants on left, blueberries on right):
It wasn’t until I got back home that I realized half a bucket was half a bucket too many and these little guys were packing some serious potency. “Tart,” “sour”: these are words that don’t even begin to describe the power of the black currant. Nasty is more like it, even if you’re not Ms. Jackson (bah dum bum). That night, I was very tempted to throw my black currants in the garbage.

Instead, I made a type of “crisp,” figuring that sugar and butter would cut the nastiness. I put the currants in four ramekins. Then I took 4 tablespoons of sugar, about 1½ cups of plain flour, ½ cup of butter, ½ cup of brown sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and combined all of it in a bowl. I sprinkled the mixture over the ramekins filled with currants, and then put them in the toaster oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
What’d I think of the finished product? Meh. It wasn’t bad, and the currants didn’t go to waste, but I think it could’ve used more sugar. Or a new recipe altogether. (…or less currants.) Too bad I hadn’t seen this article first. I could see the potential with pork belly.

Does anyone have a go-to, knock-your-socks-off, black currant recipe? I’d like to give it a try before I give up on currants altogether.

Fishkill Farms
9 Fishkill Farm Rd
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533
(845) 897-4377