Sunday, May 6, 2007

Currant Catsup

8 cups cleaned red currants
3 cups cider vinegar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
7 cups sugar
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The currants should be washed and picked over.
Boil them with the vinegar until all are 'popped'.
Strain well; discard seeds and stems.
Put the juice in a pot and add the spices mixed to a paste with a little of the currant juice.
Bring to a boil and add the sugar.
Boil hard for about one minute.
Start testing for "gel".
There are several ways to do this, but the easiest is to put a drop on a frozen surface (like an ice cube) and see if it will wrinkle when pushed with your finger.
When this is achieved, ladle into sterlized jars and seal with sterilized lids.
The original recipe did not call for this, but I pop them back in the boiling water bath for 5 minutes just for safety sake.

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