Two years ago I planted two small blackcurrant bushes in my front garden among the flowers and other ornamental vegetables. The bushes are now mature and delight me because they are so bountiful. This year one bush produced nearly 1kg of blackcurrants enough for a good sized bottle of creme de cassis and a fresh batch of blackcurrant sauce for a batch of home made ice-cream.
Ingredients
750g blackcurrants
550ml vodka
110ml water
225g Sugar
Method
Wash the blackcurrants and strip the stalks away from the berries. Place the blackcurrants into a large jar, pour over vodka and leave for five months. Emty the vodka and blackcurrants into a blender and process for a minute or two and then strain the liquid through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. Heat the water then stir in sugar until you have a syrup. Cool the syrup and mix with the blackcurrant liquor.
Decant into bottles, seal tightly and keep in a cool dark place for a further 3 months. It is then ready!
Adapted from a recipe by Andy Hamilton
