What to cook from black currants quickly and tasty

Making something tasty from blackcurrants is not at all as difficult as it might seem at first glance.
We offer you a whole selection of proven recipes, thanks to which a modest sour berry can turn into an excellent homemade dessert, a refreshing vitamin drink, or delicious jelly. It can also be used as a filling. If you love currant pies and other homemade berry pastries, head to the kitchen. With our recipes it will be delicious in an hour

What is the most logical thing to cook from sweet berries? The answer suggests itself - jam. That’s what we prepared, and we carefully brought the recipe to you.

Simple five-minute blackcurrant jam

This preparation, which is made according to the five-minute principle, has a big advantage - more vitamins will remain in the jam. You only need two ingredients, berries and sugar, no water needed. The jam turns out thick and aromatic, the berries remain intact. Since preparation does not take much time, prepare sterilized jars and lids in advance. From the specified amount of ingredients you get a little more than 1 liter of jam. For 1 kg of currants, take 1 kg of sugar. The whole point of the recipe is that the washed selected berries need to be mixed thoroughly with granulated sugar so that they release juice. After which the jam is heated to a boil and boiled for exactly 5 minutes, and then rolled into sterile jars.

Preparing jelly

The prepared juice is diluted half with water. For 1.5 liters of diluted juice add 1-2 tbsp. l. sugar, bring to a boil. Separately, until the liquid boils, 1 tbsp. l. Potato starch is diluted in half a glass of cold water. As soon as the water and juice have boiled, add the starch, stirred until smooth, in a thin stream and mix the liquid thoroughly. As soon as bubbles appear in the jelly, immediately turn off the heat.

Kissel can also be prepared from frozen. It is enough to defrost the berries and make juice from them.

Simple and delicious blackcurrant jam

Blackcurrant jam differs from jam made from the same berry - for the better. Its main advantage: thick consistency. Rolled up in jars for the winter, it hardens almost like jelly. And what’s good: thanks to one small (but very important) secret, you don’t need to grind the berries with a meat grinder or blender. All you need is a cooking pot (basin), a metal or wooden masher, currants, sugar and jars. For 1 kg of black currant berries in this recipe there are 700 grams of granulated sugar.

Go to the step-by-step recipe for simple blackcurrant jam for the winter

And here is another interesting currant preparation for the winter, which the author calls jam. But is this really so? Let's figure it out.

Harm to the health of men and women

Black currants may slow down blood clotting, so they are not recommended for people with bleeding disorders or those about to undergo surgery. Eating black currants can lead to a decrease in blood pressure - this is dangerous for hypotensive people.

Both men and women are not recommended to eat a lot of berries if they have the following diseases:

chronic hepatitis;
thrombophlebitis;
increased acidity in the stomach;
gastritis or ulcer;
acute gastrointestinal diseases;
allergy.

Blackcurrant jam with apricots and raspberries

Here's how this recipe came about - let's give the author the floor: “One day, after a trip to the market for fruits and berries and a subsequent meal, we were left with a glass of overripe raspberries, a liter jar of black currants and several unripe apricots in the refrigerator. Nobody wanted to eat it anymore; fresh fruits are stored very poorly. Actually, you could take and throw away the unused berries and apricots together. But I'm not that kind of person. I don't like it when food goes missing. I'm not looking for easy ways. So I spent a little time and made a thick, tasty, aromatic jam, similar to marmalade, from the above berries and apricots. Want to know how it was? I’m revealing all the secrets of my miracle preparation!”

Go to the recipe for blackcurrant jam with apricots and raspberries

Botanical certificate

Black currant blossoms.
Photo: Pixabay Black currant is one of the most valuable vitamin-containing plants in our flora. Introduced into cultivation as a berry plant in the Middle Ages. There is reliable evidence that in Rus' this shrub was cultivated already in the 11th century.

Black currant is a perennial low shrub, up to one and a half meters high. The shrub belongs to the gooseberry family.

As a wild plant, black currant is common in forest and forest-steppe zones. It grows in all countries of Eurasia. Loves moist places; grows poorly in open and dry lands.

The leaves are alternate, petiolate, three and five lobed, up to 10 centimeters wide, and have a fragrant, specific odor.

The flowers are 7–9 mm long, purple or pinkish-gray. The inflorescence is a raceme. Black currant, unlike red currant, has single flower clusters. The fruit is a black fragrant berry with a diameter of up to 10 mm. Black currant blooms in May - June, bears fruit in July - August.

Thick blackcurrant jam-jelly “11 glasses”

When I tried the blackcurrant jam-jelly “11 glasses”, I was indescribably delighted. Don’t be surprised by the name of the recipe; when you cook it, you’ll understand what’s what. And you will definitely want to repeat it, because the jelly-like blackcurrant jam turns out very tasty. What I love about this jam is how easy it is to prepare. There is only one stage, not counting the process of separating the berries from garden debris and stalks. What’s also attractive is the ease of remembering the proportions: for 11 glasses of berries you need to take 13 glasses of sugar and 375 ml of drinking water.

Recipe for making blackcurrant jam-jelly » step by step

Health benefits for men and women

The benefits of blackcurrant for a woman’s body are measured not only in calories. Blackcurrant is an excellent addition to the treatment of urinary tract inflammation. Research has shown that blackcurrant juice is “anti-proliferative” against certain types of tumors, namely ovarian and cervical cancer.

Currants are also good for hair: the mask acts as a moisturizer, prevents hair loss, promotes healthy hair growth, rejuvenates the scalp, and is also an excellent remedy for split ends. The berry is useful for women suffering from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menopausal symptoms, as it reduces their intensity, maintaining hormonal balance in the body.

Men over 40 are prone to strokes and heart attacks. Black currant flushes out harmful cholesterol from blood vessels and helps improve blood circulation. When consumed regularly, berries can even increase potency if problems with it are not related to tumors or prostatitis. Berries increase blood circulation, which makes it easier to achieve an erection and maintain it for a long time.

Summer milkshake with blackcurrant without sugar

Don’t rush to wince, it’s very tasty! We don’t add sugar, but the cocktail contains bananas and ripe kiwi fruits - for a variety of fruity notes in the drink. To prepare you will need 1 liter of milk with a fat content of 3.2%, 4 ripe bananas, 2 sweet kiwis, 350 grams of black currants. The weight of the berries is indicated in its pure form, without leaves, twigs and garden debris. Bananas need to be peeled and placed in a blender, then blended until creamy, then add peeled kiwi, as well as washed currants. Grind everything, then rub through a sieve to get rid of small seeds, mix with cold milk and beat until fluffy foam appears. Drink immediately - this wonderful vitamin cocktail will appeal to adults and children.

Milk-based drinks are good for everyone, but they don’t quench your thirst at all. We suggest making compote from blackcurrant berries and cooling it. What kind of lemonades are there, you will forget about everything when you try at least one compote prepared according to our recipe. Black currant goes well with most berries and fruits, making compotes from it is a pleasure, and with the recipes presented below, it is also an opportunity to be one hundred percent sure of an excellent result. After all, we have already checked everything!

Nutrients in black currants

Berries contain sugars, glucose and fructose. Provitamin A (carotene), organic acids: citric, tartaric, malic. Vitamins B, P, E, D, K, pectin, tannins and dyes, as well as potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, phosphorus.

Black currants are rich in vitamin C (ascorbic acid). This beneficial vitamin contains about 300 mg per 100 grams of berries.

This may seem unrealistic, but in terms of the amount of ascorbic acid, black currants have overtaken the main citrus fruits: lemons and oranges. Only rosehip contains more vitamin C than blackcurrant.

15–20 black currant berries provide the body’s daily need for ascorbic acid. During culinary processing and in contact with metal utensils, some of the ascorbic acid in the berries is lost.

Black currant is unique; its berries and leaves do not contain enzymes that, after some time, destroy ascorbic acid. Therefore, black currant can be stored for a long time, both dry and frozen berries retain this vitamin well.

Interesting fact: black currants growing in the northern regions contain more ascorbic acid. Fresh berries contain up to 400 mg. In dry summers, the vitamin C content in berries decreases by 20–30%, and in cold and rainy summers it increases.

Refreshing compote of 3 types of currants with lemon and mint

If you have a lot of different currants (many have all 3 types growing in their dacha - black, white, red) and you can add a couple of slices of lemon with mint leaves to the drink, try this recipe. It is amazing in its simplicity. You will have to tinker a little, just sorting out the berries and freeing them from the branches. For a 3-liter saucepan of compote, take a glass of each type of currant and water, as much as will fit. Thus, you will need: 3 cups of currants, 1 cup of sugar, half a lemon, thinly sliced, mint to taste. Pour water over the berries, add sugar, heat to a boil, cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Then add lemon and mint and leave to cool, covered. After 3 hours, strain, cool and refrigerate. This compote is best drunk as chilled as possible. By the way, you can not remove the berries from it and not strain it, just take out the mint and lemon so that it doesn’t taste bitter.

Trimming

Currant bushes are pruned for the purpose of:

creating the shape of a plant;
removing damaged and dried shoots;
enhancing nutrition of the most resilient stems;
rejuvenation

The first pruning of the buds is carried out during planting of seedlings - this is important for the subsequent growth and development of the plant. After planting, the next pruning of insufficiently developed and non-viable shoots is carried out only in the second year in the spring, when a stable temperature has already established.

The main rule of pruning is to do it before the buds open. Only the tops are removed - about a quarter of the entire length of the branch. This pruning also serves as a preventive measure against insect pests that prefer to accumulate in the upper part of the stem.

Another year after the third shaping pruning, 4–5 of the strongest stems are left on the bush. In the future, the plant is freed only from damaged and dried branches or to rejuvenate the old bush. They are cut out at the root.

The following are subject to sanitary pruning:

shoots with signs of damage or broken;
blackened branches older than 5–6 years;
annual shoots at the very root;
branches that have no branches or grow towards the center.

To remove excess stems, use only sharp pruning shears - this way the bush looks tidier and the cut does not cause much harm to the plant.

Compote of cherries, apricots and blackcurrants

A wonderful recipe for midsummer. Especially if you have your own fruits and berries. Although in the first half of July all this is already cheaper on the market. You will need: 200 grams of ripe cherries, 7 sweet apricots, 300 grams of black currants. How much water will fit into a 3-liter pan, sugar to taste. Rinse the berries and remove the stems. Also wash the apricots, divide them into halves, discarding the pits. Pour water over the fruits for compote, heat to a boil, add sugar, cook covered for 5-7 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat, leave the pan closed - the better the compote is infused, the tastier it will be. After 10-12 hours you can drink it or put it in the refrigerator. The taste of the drink is amazing.

What about baking? We promised - and we are keeping our promise.

Diseases of the bush that can cause it to die

Currants are resistant to various pathologies. However, even good immunity does not always help to resist some diseases. If infected, the plant dries out and other problems appear.

Lack of timely treatment leads to the death of the bush. To avoid such consequences, you need to be able to identify the pathology and choose the right therapy.

Rust is the reason why branches dry out during flowering

This is a fungal pathology. Most often it affects black currants, but it can spread to other varieties.

The disease can be recognized by the following signs:

yellow spots on the surface of the leaf;
formations of red color on the inside of the leaf, resembling pile;
leaves begin to dry out and fall off;
slow growth of new branches.

The result of the disease:

drying out branches;
reduction in fruit yield by 2 times;
loss of frost resistance;
deterioration of immunity;
death of the plant - in advanced cases.

The following activities help get rid of pathology:

remove leaves affected by rust and diseased shoots from the plant;
burn the collected parts of the bush;
arrange a drainage layer in the soil;
treat the currants with a medicine based on copper and sulfur - it is recommended to perform two procedures with an interval of two weeks.

Columnar rust

A fungal disease that mainly affects black currant bushes, less often red. Yellow spots appear on the top of the leaf blade, and on the underside spore-bearing columns of rust, similar to hairs, are visible where the fungus spends the winter.

Diseased leaves quickly fall off, growth and development of new shoots slows down. Rust can reduce currant yields by half. Frost resistance indicators decrease, the plant does not tolerate wintering well. And bushes that are severely damaged die.

The carrier of the fungus is pine trees, spores fly in the wind, are carried by rain, and insect pests.

Infected leaves and shoots should be torn off and cut off, and then certainly burned. Drain the soil under the bush. Fungicides and preparations based on sulfur and copper help effectively cope with rust. The treatment is repeated at intervals of 10-14 days.

Anthracnose

This is another fungal disease. The pathology most often affects red currants, but under favorable conditions it can spread to other varieties.

Anthracnose develops as follows:

small brown spots appear on the leaves;
plant branches dry;
in the absence of timely treatment, the pathology affects the entire leaf;
the leaves turn black and fall off.

To treat bushes, it is recommended to use the following drugs:

colloidal sulfur;
copper sulfate;
Bordeaux mixture.

Any product is used to spray the bush. The procedure is performed once every 10 days until the currants recover. The drugs are also indicated to prevent the occurrence of the disease.

Verticillium wilt

This is a new disease for currants. This pathology is more typical for garden crops - peppers, tomatoes and others. However, recently the disease began to affect black currants. The causative agent of the disease is a fungus that is characterized by rapid spread and resistance to chemicals.

It affects more than 350 plants, shrubs, and trees. Until recently, currants were immune to this fungus, but the situation has changed and the pathogen was able to infect black currant varieties.

The fungus spreads through the soil at a temperature of +18-270C. The pathogen enters the plant through the roots. Then the harmful activity of the fungus begins. It blocks the passage of fluid and releases harmful substances. This causes the plant to dry out. Usually the entire bush dies.

The spread of pathology is facilitated by:

sudden change in temperature;
increased air and soil humidity;
nutritional deficiencies;
presence of pests on currants.

The disease can be recognized by the following symptoms: branches and currant leaves dry out, despite abundant irrigation. Yellow spots appear on the leaves, after which wilting occurs. First, the leaves die, after which the shoot dries. However, the root system of the plant suffers first. The roots rot quickly, so it is impossible to save the bush.

To date, no means have been developed to combat the pathology. For this reason, preventive measures are recommended.

To avoid the occurrence of illness will help:

constant irrigation;
regular fertilization;
timely removal of weeds;
frequent loosening of the soil.

It is also recommended to water the plant with a solution containing Benlat, Previkur, Topisn-M. Directions for use are indicated on the packaging.

If the disease cannot be avoided, the affected currant bush should be dug up. Cover the soil under the plant with bleach. No plants can be planted in this place for 5 years.

Quick blackcurrant pie

You can easily make a quick blackcurrant pie if you use my recipe. Delicate sour cream dough, sweet and sour berries. You will need: 1 glass of sour cream, 1 glass of sugar, 2 chicken eggs, 50 grams of butter, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, flour, as much as the dough will take, 250 grams of black currants, vanilla sugar as desired. Frozen berries are fine (if you freeze them properly). Thanks to freezers, the recipe becomes all-season, but most often housewives prepare a quick blackcurrant pie in the summer.

Recipe for making a quick blackcurrant pie

Here's another interesting pie recipe - in it the aroma and sourness of blackcurrant is complemented by apple sweetness. Well, the dough is prepared... using a liter of kefir.

Bad weather conditions

This may include periods without precipitation. Dry, hot summers provoke a lack of moisture in the soil, as a result the plant does not receive enough nutrients dissolved in the soil. There should be enough water for full fruiting of the berry bush.

For irrigation, choose warm water, preferably soft, free of impurities and salts. Cold water from wells is not suitable, otherwise it can cause problems with the root system.

It is recommended to perform the moisturizing procedure in the evening. First, a hole is made around the perimeter of the circumferential circle into which liquid is poured. The volume of water is 15 liters for one bush.

Apple-currant pie with a liter of kefir

Such an unusual name is easily explained. This pie is really prepared with a liter of kefir, no more and no less. Kefir can be replaced with yogurt or home-fermented milk. The process of making this pie itself is extremely appetizing. First, the ingredients must be warm. Place kefir, eggs, butter, apples and currants in some warm place an hour before. You also need to prepare a little butter for greasing the mold, the mold itself (necessarily deep, since the cake turns out to be quite tall), a container for melting the butter and a mixer with which you will beat the eggs. Use a bowl that is deep enough to prepare the dough; you will get a lot of dough. The pie takes a long time to bake—about two hours.

Read the recipe for pie with black currants and apples on kefir

“Grated” shortbread pies are a constant success among those with a sweet tooth. You can fill them with anything, including currants or other berries.

What to do if the reason is not clear

In cases where the cause of drying out of currant branches cannot be determined, it is worth resorting to pruning the bush. First of all, the affected shoots are removed, which must be burned after the procedure to prevent the spread of infection. It is also important to know the approximate age of the currant bush.

If it is more than 10 years old, then the best option would be to uproot the plant. After all, you can’t rejuvenate by pruning. And in its place, after preliminary disinfection and fertilizing of the soil, plant a healthy seedling.

Grated pie with blackcurrant filling

To prepare, take the following products: flour - 600 grams, sugar - 200 grams, butter - 200 grams, chicken egg - 2 pieces, soda - half a teaspoon, salt - 2 pinches. For the filling you will need 200 grams of currants and a tablespoon of starch. The pie dough can be made in a food processor or kneaded by hand. Place granulated sugar, chicken eggs, soft butter or margarine, salt and soda in a cooking dish. Mix the contents of the bowl until all ingredients are combined. Add sifted wheat flour in parts. Continue kneading until the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, then divide the dough into two halves. Make one part larger, the other smaller. Wrap them in cling film and place the smaller piece in the freezer, and the second piece in the refrigerator. The smaller lump of dough needs to be frozen well so that it can be grated.

Sprinkle fresh or frozen currants with starch and stir until the berries are well coated. Take a larger piece out of the refrigerator and roll it out to fit the mold. Cover a 20x30 cm mold with parchment. Place a layer of dough. Smooth it over the bottom. Distribute the filling. Remove the second, well-frozen piece of dough from the freezer and grate it on top using a coarse grater. Try to keep the grater suspended and distribute the filling evenly throughout the entire pan. Place in a hot oven for 40-60 minutes at 180 degrees. You can cut the pie about 30 minutes after you take it out.

But not only pies can be baked with this wonderful berry. What if you try stuffing bagels with currants? You tried? And we have already managed to do this. And now we have brought you a reliable, proven recipe.

Bagels with sweet blackcurrant filling

These delicious-looking and magical-tasting bagels are made from rich yeast dough with milk. For the filling, currants are mixed with sugar. Let’s answer the question right away: won’t the berry juice leak? If you lightly sprinkle each strip of dough (the future bagel) with starch, and only then lay out the filling, it will not leak. And don't overdo it with the amount of filling. For a small bagel, one teaspoon of berries sprinkled with sugar will be enough. You literally need a couple of pinches of starch for 1 bagel. Before starting to work with the dough, sprinkle the berries with sugar, mix thoroughly and put in the refrigerator. For better rise of the dough, knead it with slightly warmed (but not hot) milk.

Go to the recipe for bagels with black currants

Black currant beneficial properties

We can safely say that black currant has high nutritional and healing properties. This is true, we tested the amazing powers of the blackcurrant bush on ourselves.

My husband calls black currant fruit drink a “vitamin hit” that gets him back on his feet after colds and ailments.

In folk medicine, black currant, its berries and leaves are used for low appetite, diabetes, and anemia. It helps with chronic gastritis, liver diseases, nose and internal bleeding.

Tea made from currant leaves has good diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. Leaves are often used for the treatment and prevention of gout, osteochondrosis, rheumatism, joint and muscle pain.

Black currant leaves are used to treat many skin diseases: exudative diathesis, eczema, dermatitis. Currant tea also treats diseases of the genitourinary system: kidney stones, cystitis, urethritis.

Berries and their juice are recommended for use in cases of increased capillary fragility. They help restore strength to weakened and convalescent patients. Fresh berry juice is used to treat gastritis with low acidity and bronchitis. Juice and syrup of berries with sugar treats throat diseases, hoarseness, whooping cough.

Black currant leaves are active against dysentery bacillus; they can be used as an adjuvant that increases the activity of antibiotics.

Black currant is used to prevent vitamin deficiency and as a general tonic in winter and early spring. Currant tea made from leaves, berries and even buds is very useful.

Black currant leaves are used in vitamin and herbal teas along with raspberry leaves, lingonberries and rose hips.

For a dry hacking cough, it is useful to drink blackcurrant juice. It is very useful for people who are constantly engaged in recitation: teachers, lecturers, actors, and especially those who are engaged in professional singing.

A decoction of currant leaves can be used for bathing small children who are sick with scrofula, diathesis, and rickets.