The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-07-09
The Black Currant.
BIZ JANE EDDINGTON.


market In sort OF how de do and
then good-by" fashion. 1t liz, however.
habitat of n few city garden plots
and is appreciated by others than the
English and Canadians. who make 30
much OF It. Tho black currant OF the
market generally comes from Canada.
II Is with us for SO short a time
that we are not likely to get &C
quainted with all Its virtues. eape-
cially as " comes In season of lux
urics. Pound for pound II makes n
most gratifying preserve. we'll cooked
before the hot sugar Is added to IT.
because OF its odd fiavors. One Of these
would he Objectionable IL moro than
limited at. for 1t Is strongly suggestive
OF the odor OF the spice bug.
In making our preserves It always
should be borne In mind that the
ethereal odors and tho fiavors arc al
most one and the same, and what de-
stroys one will destroy the other. Tho
less cooking with the sugar the moro
likely we are to preserve tho fruit
flavor. for fruit Juice and sugar cooked
together have way of developing a
sort OF strength that is not pleasant
or wholesome.
Mrs Lucy Yates. In her charming
book. The Gardener and the Cook"
mentions black currants in the second
of two paragraphs giving hints most
valuable for this season The Char
lotte' mentioned is her italian cook
The paragraph mentioning the black
currant follows naturally after the fol-
lowing:
Another light rad wine. almost like
claret in flavor, and one which Char
lotte deceivcs herself Into believing Is
vim ordinaire.' Ia made with the juice
of slocs or damsons and red beet roots.
Tho fruit Is bruised and bottled I'm
water long enough NJ
tuice and flavor. and this Is strained or
into stone jar. Several pounds OF
well-washed beets are then boiled ten
der, pared. and sliced into deep pip
Kin. and the sioe liquor is poured over.
The next day the r!nds OF oranges and
lemons and the strained juice are added
and good stirring Is given. On the
third day rs many pounds OF sugar as
VIII equal quarter OF the weight OF
the strained juice are put into the
preserving pan and the whole OF tho
liquor LIS drained of and put with
them. and half as much filtered water
IT boils for a short time only. is then
strained Into the tub. and some yeast
put In when COOL and left four or five
days When pouring of into the cask
little brandy is added. 1t improves
with age.
This leads me naturally to mention
again the cordials TO which have
before alluded Properly speaking.
these are tho juices OF ripe fruits
extracted by the aid Of alcohol or Cheap
spirit. or. as Charlotte would say with
eau de vic' But this, which Is SO
inexpensive in her country Is dear in
ours. go our cordials have to be made
by crushing the fruit and straining off
Its own juice, boiling that with loaf
sugar sufficient to make good syrup,
and then adding third Of It's amount
of French brandy, or OF spirits of
of hnf hot II ~. L.
way we make red currant cordial.
raspberry. blackberry. and ounce,
while OF green gooseberries and ripe
black currants we make n cordial
that is less rich. being diluted with n
little water and having less sugar. as
both are for common drinking. These
cordials are never fermerted. but are
bottled off as soon as made, and n
tablespoonful OF any one of them is
sufficient for large tumblerful of
drink"
As we might expect, the next thing
described is our we'll known rasp-
berry vinegar. tablespoonful of
of which to tumbler is one of tho
most refreshing drinks we have for
summer or winter. 1t is so easy to
make, too.
The berries are covered with vinegar
and allowed to stand from twenty-four
" All ~ uOuIs MTS. aIeS SAWS
strain and boil with half the euuIya-
lent weight Of Sugar. but most of US
strain 1t on to second lot of berries
and then use an equal weight of sugar
for the heavy syrup we make. Mrs
Beeton's recipe for black currant lam
is as follows. and it is necessary to
remember that the tinfe given for
cooking is over a slow English coal
fire. ut could not be cooked that long
over gas unless turned to the lowest
pointl:
Black Currant Jam.-Time. three
quarters of an hour to an hour. tn.
every pound of currants allow three.
quarters of a pound of sugar Gather
the currants when they are thorourhIv
ripe and dry. and pick them from tha
stalks. Bruise them lightly In a largo
bowl, and to every pound of fruit mt
thrce-quarters of pound OF dnnjv
beaten loaf sugar; put sugar and frnit
into u preserving pan. and boil them
from three quarters to one hour. sk,n,-
ming rs the scum rises, and stirr,ne
constantly; then put the Jam into nots
cover with brandy paper and tie then,
over closely. 'oii
The air-tight preserving can ia al.
most unknown in England.