Ingredient: Blackcurrants
Category: Fruit- Soft
Season: June to August:
The Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia. In French it is called a "cassis".
Blackcurrant produce racemes 5-10 cm long.
The fruit is an edible berry 1 cm diameter, very dark purple in colour, almost black, with a glossy skin and a persistent calyx at the apex, and containing several seeds.
Other than being juiced and used in jellies, syrups, and cordials, blackcurrants are used in cooking because their astringent nature brings out the flavour in many sauces and meat dishes and lends them to desserts.
It was once thought that currants needed to be "topped and tailed" (the stalk and flower-remnants removed) before cooking. This is not the case as these parts are easily assimilated during the cooking process.
Blackcurrants can be frozen, then shaken vigorously. The tops and tails are broken off and can be separated easily from the fruit.
"During World War II most fruits rich in vitamin C, such as oranges, became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom.
Since blackcurrants are a rich source of vitamin C and blackcurrant plants are suitable for growing in the UK climate, blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by the British government.
The yield of the nation's crop increased significantly.
From 1942 on almost the entire British blackcurrants were made into blackcurrant syrup (or cordial) and distributed to the nation's children free, giving rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant flavourings in Britain.
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