Cordial and Creme de Cassis

Last update: 7.09.10 First posted: 7.09.10 by Lynne Midwinter in What's Cooking In Tod?

This summer saw a glut of Cherries, Plums and Currants in my garden,

so as per usual I jammed and jammed however there is only so much Blackcurrant jam a girl can eat or give away, so there were plenty of berries to make blackcurrant cordial and even crème de cassis!

Both are fairly simple to make and the cordial is so much better than Ribena – actually tastes of Blackcurrants and is less cloyingly sweet!

Blackcurrant cordial

Put any amount of blackcurrants into a pan and just cover with water. There is no need to fully destalk or top and tail them as they will be strained later.

My preserving pan takes about 5 lb comfortably. Bring to the boil and cook til the fruit is mushy – this takes very little time. Then mash the fruit with a potato masher and strain through a muslin over night. I have a very Heath Robinson technique for straining using a net curtain and a Black and Decker Workmate but it works excellently and allows me to stain a few batches at once. Once the juice is strained measure it back into the pan and add half a pound of sugar per pint of juice. The bring to the boil before bottling in sterilised bottles. I tend to store this in the fridge as it doesn’t have heaps of sugar in it.

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Creme de Cassis

500g Blackcurrants
500ml fruity red wine
Granulated sugar
About 600ml vodka

Macerate blackcurrants and wine in glass bowl for 24 to 48 hours.
Then puree in food processor or with a blending stick. Strain through muslin preferably overnight and press to get as much juice as you can.
Measure the liquid and add an equal amount of sugar. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook for an hour until reduced and a little syrupy, DON’T LET IT BOIL.
Stir in one part of vodka to three parts of syrup.
Decant into cold sterilized bottles. Store for at least two weeks.