Friday, July 18, 2008

Sun Jelly

I just couldn’t wait for the weekend to make the uncooked currant jelly. With the help of my husband, I harvested the black currants on a weeknight.


It was a tiny harvest, the currant shrub is only in its second year, but I figured it would be enough for a small batch. I pureed the currants, my husband went to bed.

The Red Currant Jelly—Jelled by the Sun recipe seemed so intriguing. And so easy. But I didn’t quite follow the recipe, seems like I never can quite follow a recipe. It called for red currants, I had black. It said to use cheesecloth, I used my trusty food mill…

The next morning, I put the jars of jelly outside. They basked in the warm sunshine all day long. The mixture of currant juice and sugar turned into jelly. Just like magic, amazing! I was very excited to see that it set perfectly. My husband was very amused that I was so excited about a few jars of jelly.

My fuschia jelly has a delicate texture and tastes like a mouthful of fresh currants, only better. It was delightful on a toasted and buttered English muffin, so much better than anything store-bought.


I cannot wait to taste it on crêpes.

Black Currant Sun Jelly
Printable Recipe

9 ounces black currants
9 ounces superfine sugar

Puree the currants in a food mill using the finest disc. If the puree has seeds, strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove them. Stir in the sugar. Divide among 3 4-ounce jars, cover with parchment, and secure the parchment with butcher’s twine. Place the jars outside in the sun all day, or until jelled.

Makes about 1 ½ cups. Keeps for months tightly sealed in the refrigerator.

2 comments:

Vivian said...

Wow..talk about solar power! Would this work with other fruits? I'm thinking chokecherry or raspberry, really any fruit with a matching weight of sugar. Thanks for the inspiration!

Lucy Vaserfirer said...

Vivian,
This technique works with currants because they are high in pectin. It won’t work with low-pectin berries like raspberries.

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