Red
Currant Water
A refreshing drink on a hot day. Processor liquidize ½ kg (1 lb) red currants with ½ litre of water, adding 2 good tablespoons (3 tbs) of sugar. Put through a sieve, pressing on the pulp but not putting too much through. Taste and add extra sugar if you like: the flavour should be strong. Store in the refrigerator. Serve with ice cubes and soda water, adding gin or vodka if you like, as a cooling long drink.
Why we do not make more of these waters in the summer I do not know: cherry water and raspberry water do very well, especially if you add red currants to the fruit to sharpen it. The thing is to drink them fresh, within a couple of days. They can be stored in the freezer for longer periods , of course, but they take up quite a lot of room – if you have this in mind, reduce the quantity of water in the recipe.
From Jane Grigson's Fruit Book. London, Penguin, 1982.
Just for the record, this is ACravan Blogpost # 1,000! Happy First Day Of Summer!
That looks really good, especially since it's so hot out today.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel. And (a belated) welcome back. It does look good, doesn't it. If you're ever in the mood to read really, really excellent books which are cookbooks-plus (plus history, plus literature, plus travel memoirs), I strongly recommend the brilliant works of Jane Grigson and Elizabeth David. They teach so much and give an amazing amount of pleasure. Thanks for saying you liked this. Today's going to be very, very hot. I'm hoping I can complete my tasks happily, keeping a cool head. Curtis
ReplyDeleteWe loved those currants, though it's not so hot here.
ReplyDelete"Mouth-watering," saith the resident Muse.
Mouth-watering says it all. Jane Grigson's Fruit Book is really splendid. It's one of those, "you can open to any page" and find pleasure and information you didn't know books. They say it may reach 105 degrees here; I'm hoping to go to a movie -- anything Jane wants to see -- later on after I've taken my 40 workday lashes. Curtis
ReplyDelete