Last weekend the Fates were on my side, and
Mr B, who’d been delegated the task of picking the black currants down in Devon, came home with just over a kilo of wonderful, ripe fruit. I’d asked him to get
them for me never thinking that he’d actually follow through and deliver. But,
notwithstanding my skepticism, and against all the odds, Mr B found his way to
the black currant bushes, recognised them for what they were and harvested the
crop – or as much of it as was ripe for the picking. He promises me that there
are more yet to ripen in the not-so-very-hot Devon sunshine.
I decided to turn them into some black
currant cordial, which I can add to a glass of
Cava or still white wine on a hot summer evening. I have even been known to add
it an innocent glass of sparkling mineral water to turn it into a minor
celebration too.
It reminds me of my childhood. Growing up
in the north of Ireland there weren’t many fruit crops that we could consistently rely upon to deliver jam-making produce in our cool, damp summers. But our little black
currant bushes never failed us. As a consequence my mother and grandmothers
relied heavily on this rare bounty for making jams, jellies, cordials and pies.
They’re a real heritage crop. In the dark
days of the Second World War when the Nazi naval blockade was threatening the nation’s
nutrition the government seized upon the black currant crop as the only means
by which they could prevent an entire generation from being weakened by scurvy. The
currants are full to bursting with vitamin C, and, as part of the War Effort, they
were turned into syrup, which was then fed to the children to keep them
healthy.
More recent studies have shown that consumption of black currants can also help reduce the effects of heart disease, diabetes and maybe even Alzheimer's. They're a bit of an all round superfood.
And I have to sing their praises for
today’s gardener. They fruit reliably every year. I've had very little to worry
about from either aphids or mildew - or anything else for that matter. They
don’t need much attention. You just plant them in a hole in the ground, mulch around the roots a bit and let them get on with it. Prune them towards the end of winter and that's about it. If you’re only going to grow one fruit crop in
your garden I strongly recommend that you chose this one.
And having packed all that fruity goodness
into my cordial the last thing I want is to include cavity-inducing,
tooth-rotting sugar, so I've substituted xylitol in place of regular sugar. If you wanted to use normal sugar that would work fine too.
Anyway if you’d like to make some cordial
here’s the recipe:
