Collecting Currants

Day 275: With COVID numbers remaining high and the stupidity rate climbing, I am finding it increasingly difficult to urge myself out on walks. I have had three near-misses while less than half a mile from home, two when a driver passing another car came across the fog line on the opposite side of the road where I was walking, facing traffic. The number of vehicles heading toward the Park would appear to be at or above the last several years' "increased visitation" rate, and while I don't want to die of COVID or a coronary, neither do I want to be taken out by an impatient driver. Consequently, I am also having a hard time finding material my readers will find interesting, so today's offering is currant news. With an A.

They're nearly done now, my two small bushes, but they have given me roughly a cup of delicious Red Lake currants. The stems which bore fruit have been marked with flagging tape so that I know to prune them out. Red currants bear best on second-year wood. Third-year wood will produce fewer berries. On the other hand, gooseberries can be asked to produce for three years on any given stem before it needs to be taken out of service, and boy, do I have gooseberries coming on! I've already picked close to a cupful, and that was just for starters. The two fruits (currants and goozleberries) are being stored temporarily in my freezer until I have gleaned the full crop. From there, it's into the jam pot for a small, but utterly delicious specialty batch.

Jamming these two fruits is a bit of a bother, but gooseberry/currant fans will tell you it's worth it. Currants alone are best turned into jelly, straining the cooked fruit through muslin to remove the dried flower ends and stems. Gooseberries will require being "topped and tailed," as the saying goes, i.e., both the stem end and the blossom end will need to be cut off with a sharp knife. Fortunately, this tart fruit doesn't ripen all at once. Topping and tailing seems much less of a chore when done a cup at a time. Berries can be frozen without adding sugar or liquid to hold until you're ready to make jam. I'm looking forward to having a couple of half-pints, but don't expect me to share!