Anyone out there have black currants. My bushes are bearing for the first time and am curious how people use them.
Notice the bushes at the front of the elderberries in the picture.
Now about 4 foot high they are healthy and green. No thorns and thus far I have not had to prune in any way. The greatest plus is that I have never had to spray these berries in any way. They have continued to be reliably disease and pest free. The other plus is that the birds tend to leave them alone. I am contemplating buying some of the red ones next year but for now all of my currants are black.
I read that they root easily as well.
I like having different berries because if one crop of something fails I always have back up. If the birds take one crop I always have backup. Sometimes I have to get a little creative in how I use them because a person can only eat so much jelly and pie. But I like always having fresh fruit for my oatmeal and eating out of hand. If all else fails I can always make wine!
For me breaking away from the traditional apple/pear/cherry/peach hybrids was one of the better things I ever did. Going with nontraditional fruits such as gooseberries, currants, native plums, blueberry, blackberry, elderberry and strawberry has been much more reliable.
The other plus is with a new apple tree costing $40 to $50 most of these fruits I can easily propagate myself.
Not bearing yet are my juneberry(serviceberry), highbush cranberry, pawpaw, nanking cherry and cornelian cherry. The mulberry tree also has it's first fruits this year although only a hand full.
So for my new mountain home I will stick with mostly natives although I did add 2 heirloom pears this year that I have noticed grow well in this area and a supposedly hardy wild apricot. Time will tell how successful these are.
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We (meaning my husband mostly :)) plant plenty of trees on our farm. I don't really know what to do with black currants. My grandmothers never used them in their preserving/canning.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I was amazed to see someone else with black currants! We had them growing up and loved them. My mom would make pie with them either straight or blended with rhubarb. You can also make jelly with them. Because hubs and I live on the original farm place now, we have the same currants, though my dad moved them back in the early 90's. They never have really produced like I remember--some the size of blueberries sometimes!--so I never bother to pick them. Still, ours have FINALLY done very well this year, tho still not very big. Not sure what happened this year but it's about time! I do trim the bushes constantly as they are a windblock to my garden. YES, they root and spread VERY easily, and are easy to transplant. Trying to get them to produce like I remember is the one thing I don't really know. I'd LOVE to know how to get my hands on the red currants!
ReplyDeleteI read that they don't have to be pruned until they are about 3 years old so mine are just at the age to worry about. Then after that they say to prune like gooseberries. I think they bloom on 1 year old and over wood. Cutting out the oldest ones that no longer bear well. I will probably prune mine for the first time this fall or early spring. My berries are about the size if blue berries. The red one are available online sometimes and they say they are sweeter than the black ones. The birds also like them better because of the red color!
DeleteIf you are thinking something other than jam, English Summer Pudding would be an idea. Basically you cook a mix of currants/berries till they pop and are juicy. Then line a mold with sliced white bread, spoon in the fruit, top with a layer of bread and let sit overnight. Kind of like a trifle.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound interesting. It seems that currants are much more popular in England and I see alot of English recipes.
ReplyDeleteHere in Northern Europe we make cordial out of currants. Black currant cordial is the basic drink during winter. I add frozen currants to smoothies. My family doesn't eat jams or jellies, and very rarely pies. But kids drink "granny's cordial".
ReplyDeleteWe eat very little jams or jellies any more either I do still make a little and give as Christmas gifts to my children and the occasional peanut butter and jelly sandwich for ourselves. Much of our fresh fruit is frozen to go into smoothies or oatmeal. I have also been experimenting with liqueurs also so I may try "granny's cordial" myself. I am making plum brandy this year with my fresh plums as we had a bumper crop.
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