By Diane Whitten
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Although strawberry season has waned at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, several types of small fruit are available including sweet and sour cherries, gooseberries and red currants. These fruit pose a challenge to a cook because recipes aren’t easy to come by, especially for the gooseberries and red currants. One farmer at the Market, Charles Holub of Scotch Ridge Berry Farm in Duanesburg, has plenty of red currants and gooseberries. Red currants are a significant source of both vitamin C and potassium. I’ve never eaten fresh red currants before, so he let me taste a sample. I was pleasantly surprised to find they are very flavorful and slightly tart. These tiny red berries contain seeds that are edible and a good source of soluble fiber, but not necessarily a desirable part of a recipe. So what do you do with fresh red currants? I accepted the challenge of coming up with a recipe to use fresh red currants in.
While you can use the red currants whole as an edible garnish on top of custard, for the following recipes you’ll want to separate the juice from the seeds. The best way I found to do this is to crush the berries through the sieve of a food mill. Alternatively you may mash them through a strainer with the back of a wooden spoon. It’s ok if some of the tiny seeds get into the puree. One pint of currants will yield about ¾ of a cup of a beautiful pinkish red puree. This puree will freeze well and keep in the freezer for up to a year. You can use the puree in the Red Currant Wine Cooler recipe below made with Colebrook Country Wines Chardonnay which is also available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market.
Red Currant Wine Cooler
¾ cup red currant* puree (see directions above)
1 cup Colebrook County Wines Chardonnay *
2 tablespoons honey*
3 cups seltzer
Stir honey into wine until dissolved. Combine all ingredients and serve over ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Makes 6 servings.
Red Currant Vinaigrette
¾ cup red currant* puree (see directions above)
½ cup apple cider*
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Combine all ingredients for use as a salad dressing. The intense flavor of this vinaigrette is a good accompaniment to strongly flavored greens such as arugula.
This recipe can be sampled today at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on High Rock Avenue from 3-6 pm at the Cornell Cooperative Extension table. Ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) are available at the Farmers’ Market. For more recipes for red currants call Diane Whitten at 885-8995. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is also open on Saturdays from 9-1 pm.
