Make your own currant juice the mother's way

My mother wasn't exactly the queen of harvesting and preserving, but she made her own currant juice every year. And I helped her, of course. That's why I planted the yellow or white variety that I like best in my garden. On the one hand, I obtained them from the Lower Austrian Hedge Day, and on the other hand, I bought two more high-stemmed currants from my trusted gardener. Currants have a very short harvest period, which is actually at the end of June. Mine were very gracious with me this time and waited for me until after my vacation, so I finally harvested them this week.

The early morning hours were ideal for harvesting the currants mostly with the panicles. This is okay because I then put them in the juicer - just like my mother. It's a bit of tedious work, but somehow it's also an annual ritual. Incidentally, I always leave a few panicles and berries in case anyone wants to snack on a few berries. I missed this as a child after the harvest - my personal harvest shock. And the insects and birds in the garden thank me for it too.

As soon as I had finished collecting the plants by my standards, I emptied the berries including the panicles (and a few small leaves) into the sieve attachment of the juicer. I had already bought a syrup sugar for berries, which I added in layers. I learned this from my mother, who always saved herself the trouble of boiling the liquid again with sugar afterwards.

As for the amount of syrup sugar: I do it every year, thumb by pi, but you can also follow the instructions on the sugar packet.

Then fill the lower part of the juicer with sufficient water and place the three-part pot on the stove and heat it up. The hot steam dissolves the berry water and runs through the sieve into the juice collector. Unfortunately, this time I made a mistake that I often make: I thought I had plenty of time until it had finished cooking and went off to do something else. Until my daughter called me quite emotionally because the entire stove, worktop and floor were full of sugar curd juice.

So you should immediately put the hose into a pot to avoid this mess! Another lesson learned.

I had no choice but to laboriously wash away the sticky liquid and collect the small amount that remained in a pot and then empty it into a clean bottle prepared for this purpose, washed out with hot water (or in a hot pipe) and sealed. The juice will keep for some time. And tastes simply wonderful! Good luck!