Over the past two days I have shared some black currant recipes that I had been playing with over the long weekend. The jelly and curd left me with cooked berries that were definitely still useful. This post is all about what other options are available for the left over mash. Black currants grow locally but with covid, the weather, the flood and supply issues they can be costly and not always easy to find. So making the most of my black currants was important to me, especially since the weather had killed most of the crop for the last two years and in the long run it is less time consuming to mess up the kitchen once. It is always good to have something to pull from.
The first step was to separate out the remaining fruit puree and create ice cubes that I can easily pull from over the coming months.
I combined all the left over bits and pieces into one pot and heated it up. My intention is not to cook the mixture just to loosen everything up so that the puree can be pushed through the sieve more easily. Using the back of a spoon push the contents of the sieve down and the puree out. Scrape off the bottom of the sieve every so often and put what remains in sieve aside for other projects.
Pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze. Used as needed for sweet sauces or as a brush on topping for meat. Adjust the flavour by adding sugar or honey and possibly port or sherry for a dessert sauce or mustard, vinegar, maple syrup and spices to top a meat entree. Thickened, this can also serve as an alternative condiment to applesauce.
Once the puree has been frozen, the last of the mash is primarily seeds and skin but there are still ways to include the mash in some additional projects.
Flavoured vinegars can be used for salad dressings or with a little sweetness added they become a shrub used as a refreshing summer pick-me-up with soda water or as part of a cocktail. The bottle contains 1/3 mash by volume.
The picture below shows the bottle one week in. I will let this sit for another few weeks before decanting through a sieve and topping off the bottle with fresh white wine vinegar. Or maybe red wine vinegar as red wine and black currants grow well together in France and I have a bottle of red wine Creme de Cassis maturing at the moment.
Remember please, that all these projects were completed over a lazy long weekend by myself and if that is not possible in your life, freezing berries and taking them out as needed is also an option.
Crumbles, cobblers, brown betties, clafoutis and other similar baked fruit desserts are another way to use up the last of the mash while adding a little more complex flavour to your dishes. Simply add in 2 – 4 tablespoons of mash and possibly a little honey to help coat the fruit. Stir to combine and carry on with your recipe.
2 1/2 cups blueberries and 2 Tbsp. mash were combined for this quick crumble. The crumble topping was made with 1/2 cup hazelnut meal, 3 Tbsp. golden sugar, 1/4 soft salted butter, 1/2 tsp. allspice. Served warm with ice cream.
Quick breads like the muffins below are another option. At this point the mash is tangy, something I enjoy but if you or the kids enjoy something sweeter, then adding a little honey or sugar to the mix will work.
Jam Surprise muffins are a two step process. Simply use your favourite recipe and when filling the forms, fill half full, add a teaspoon of the mash and then top off the muffin with more batter to cover the mash completely. Bake as usual.
A tablespoon or so in lemonade and smoothies are other options as well as a marinade for meats.
May your creative juices be flowing.
