Currant sauces are noticeably inferior in popularity to tomato sauces, although once you try them, you wonder why? But everything is banally simple - currants are a low-tech berry for mass production, difficult to grow, harvest, and prepare. You can much more often find blanks made from it in your home pantry than on a store shelf.
And at home, only jams or preserves are usually stored. Preparing currant sauce in small quantities, however, is quite simple. There are few recipes, but, unfortunately, even fewer dishes in which they are used. This question is the simplest. Currant sauces can replace pomegranate sauces in any meat dishes. I don’t like this sauce unless it’s next to a lot of garlic, although even here it’s all a matter of personal taste. For example, fatty boiled brisket stuffed with garlic cloves and currant glaze is simply delicious.
Currant sauces - general principles of preparation
• Red and black currant sauces can be an excellent replacement for the usual tomato sauce. They are used both for stewing meat or fish, and when serving a ready-made dish. They can be liquid or thick, for example “Blackcurrant butter sauce”.
• The berries must be separated from the green tassels, the debris is removed and washed thoroughly. After this, they are dried well on a towel or colander and only after that the sauce is prepared from them.
• The currants, along with other ingredients, are thoroughly pureed in a blender, and then followed according to the described recipe. If you need to get a more delicate sauce, grind the puree additionally on a thin metal sieve.
• If a sauce prepared for one or two servings may not be subjected to heat treatment, then one prepared for longer storage must be boiled. Mild food preservatives (table vinegar or lemon juice) are added to those prepared for the winter. Do not be alarmed by this word, ordinary table salt is also a preservative; when used wisely, acids and salt are harmless. But they allow you to preserve very healthy products for a long time with minimal losses.
Homemade blackcurrant ketchup
I bring to your attention a very tasty, sweet and sour sauce with a rich bouquet of aromas, which can be preserved for the winter. You don’t have to add vinegar, because the berries, thanks to their natural acid, themselves have a preservative effect. Thus, you will get not only a tasty, but also a healthy sauce that goes well with any meat.
Ingredients:
- half a kilo of black currants;
- 300 ml water;
- 4 peas of allspice;
- some coriander seeds;
- 2 cloves;
- some anise seeds;
- a pinch of salt;
- 2 sprigs fresh basil;
- a couple of mint leaves;
- 2 sprigs of rosemary;
- 4-5 tablespoons of granulated sugar (to taste);
- a teaspoon each of ground coriander and paprika.
Step-by-step recipe description
1. If you picked the berries yourself, then do not rush to clear them of twigs and leaves. They will add a special taste to the sauce. Don’t worry, because later we will rub the mass through a sieve and they will not end up in your ketchup. Rinse the currants thoroughly and transfer to a bowl for cooking. Add water and boil for 15 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients (except sugar) and stir well. After adding them, the mass needs to be boiled for another 7-9 minutes.
3. You may notice that the berry mass has acquired a beautiful shade and cooked appearance. Now you can proceed to the next step.
4. Place the contents of the pan on a sieve and wipe the mixture. You can do this using a masher or whisk. After grinding, discard the pulp and put the juice back on the stove. Now it's time to add sugar and stir. Boil for another 15 minutes.
5. Pour ketchup into sterile jars and seal. As I already said, we do not use vinegar. Without it, the sauce can also last all winter.
Currant sauces - cooking tricks and useful tips
• Currant sauces can be prepared not only during the ripening season of such berries. Fresh currants can always be replaced with frozen ones in any recipe.
• Freshly frozen currants for boiling sauces are not defrosted. If the berries need to be chopped before cooking, they are thawed in advance, and the juice released is used in the preparation of sauces.
• Sauces prepared for the winter are poured only into sterile jars and covered with boiled metal lids.
Useful links:
Making redcurrant ketchup for the winter
This sauce goes great with meat and other side dishes. The sweet-sour, tart taste will not leave anyone indifferent. It can be prepared both for the winter and just for barbecue. Try it!
Ingredients:
- kilogram of currants;
- a quarter teaspoon of ground chili pepper (you can replace it with 1 fresh pepper, but with it the texture will not be uniform);
- half a teaspoon of ground black pepper;
- 2 cloves;
- half a teaspoon of ground ginger;
- another half teaspoon each of curry, ground turmeric and paprika;
- 2 peppercorns;
- a tablespoon of salt;
- 2 cups granulated sugar;
- 3 lavrushki.
Step-by-step description of the recipe:
1. Rinse the currants thoroughly. I do this directly in a colander so that the water drains right away. There is no need to clear the branches. After washing, you need to wait until the liquid has completely drained and pour boiling water directly in a colander. There is no need to leave the berries in boiling water; just lightly blanch them.
2. Now the berries need to be rubbed through a sieve. A regular pusher will do for this. Discard the pulp and reserve the juice for cooking the sauce.
3. Pour the juice into a cooking vessel and add all the products from the list. It is better to add a little salt, and add salt at the end of cooking, so as not to oversalt. Stir and place the mixture over high heat until it boils. Boil for 6-8 minutes. Remove the foam. Taste and adjust if necessary.
The foam formed during the cooking process can be used as a sauce. True, it cannot be stored. But it will serve as an ideal addition to today's dinner.
4. Remove the laurel. She has already done her fragrant work. Therefore, you can safely throw it away.
5. Pour the sauce into sterile jars and cover with a lid without twisting. Place to sterilize in boiling water for 15 minutes.
6. After this, carefully remove the jar from the hot water, seal tightly and turn it over onto the lids. Cover with a warm cloth and leave for at least 6-8 hours. It is better to leave them in this state until the next morning.
You can store the sauce in a cool, dry place all winter.
Cooking steps
- Pour the currants with cold water and rinse well. (The water needs to be changed several times). Pour the clean berries into a colander and leave to drain.
- We clean the garlic from the films, and the chili pepper from the tail and seeds. Chop the garlic with a knife or grate it, and cut the red pepper into small cubes.
- Place the currants in a saucepan and fill with water. The berries must be boiled over low heat for 20–25 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
- When the berries have cooled, strain them through a colander, but do not pour out the liquid part. Next, rub the boiled red currants through a fine sieve so that there are no seeds in Tkemali.
Tip: To separate the seeds and skins from currants, you can crush the berries in a blender and then squeeze them out with gauze.
- Add the resulting currant broth to the ground berries and place on low heat. Cook the sauce for about 1 hour, stirring constantly. During this time, excess moisture will evaporate and the sauce will have the desired consistency.
Tip: Don't worry if the sauce turns out runny. After cooling, “Tkemali” will thicken and look like a real Georgian sauce.
- 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add finely chopped or blended herbs, finely chopped garlic, pepper, salt and sugar to the sauce, mix until smooth and continue cooking.
Tip: If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried dill and parsley to taste.
- The finished sauce can be rolled into pre-sterilized jars or consumed immediately after cooling. A kilogram of red currant will yield 200–300 g of ready-made Tkemali.
This “Tkemali” will give an ordinary dinner the mood of a summer holiday and vacation, even in winter. The abundance of tastes and aromas of herbs, garlic, pepper will not leave any family member indifferent.
Hot red or black currant sauce recipe
You can find a successful combination of spiciness, sweetness and sourness in this recipe. In the list of ingredients I indicated the approximate amount of spices. Determine the exact ratio yourself by tasting the sauce. Spicy lovers can increase the amount of hot pepper. Determine your sugar and salt levels yourself.
Ingredients:
- half a kilo of black or red currants;
- 2 full tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- half a glass of water;
- 2 star anise (can be replaced with ground);
- a teaspoon of ground mint;
- a third of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon;
- ground chili pepper - to taste (about a pinch, then adjust at your discretion);
- a mixture of peppers (to your taste).
Step-by-step description of the recipe:
1.Rinse the berries and drain in a colander. Place them in a saucepan or saucepan and cover with water. Add some pepper mixture and add star anise. In this form, you need to boil the currants for a couple of minutes after boiling.
2. After this, pour the mixture onto a sieve and wipe thoroughly. We no longer need the peels and seeds that remain as a result of rubbing. But the berry juice needs to be returned to the pan, add all the other ingredients to it and cook for another 5-8 minutes. During the process, foam may appear and must be removed. Don't write off pouring it down the sink, because it can also be served as a sauce for today's meal.
3. Adding vinegar is not required, because currants by their nature play the role of a preservative. It is enough to simply sterilize the jars and lids and then the sauce will be stored for a long time.
4. Pour into jars and seal with lids. Additional sterilization can be done by wrapping with a warm cloth. But before that, the jars need to be turned upside down. Let them steam until completely cool. You can store them in any cool place.
Currant sauce is a huge success among meat lovers. Its taste is ideal for any type of meat. If you have never tried this ketchup, I recommend making it and appreciating it. Moreover, it is not at all difficult to do this.
In the store you can choose a sauce for every taste. However, in order to find your ideal ketchup, you have to try new companies and types again and again. And this hurts your pocket. Therefore, I offer you a healthy and very tasty alternative. If you are a fan of sweet and sour sauces, then choose any recipe from today’s selection. You can cook it all year round, even from frozen berries. And serve after it has cooled.
Go for it! I wish you success. See you again!
Author of the publication
offline 2 years
Sauce for the winter
- 2 kg of currants (preferably red);
- 1 kg of sugar (do not reduce the amount - currants are sour, sugar will not turn them into jam);
- 250 ml vinegar (9%);
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves;
- 1 teaspoon allspice, the same amount of black pepper;
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon;
- a spoon or two of salt.
Procedure:
- Puree the berries and puree.
- Heat the berry puree with sugar so that it does not boil, but the sugar has dissolved.
- Add spices, cover the pan with a lid (technologists claim that this will preserve more vitamins). Simmer over low heat for half an hour. You should stir the redcurrant sauce every 5-10 minutes, as it may try to burn.
- Turn off the heat, add vinegar. While the sauce is hot, pour it into sterile jars, turn them over, and cover for a day. It is better to store the preparation for the winter in the cellar, but even in a dark apartment closet it will not deteriorate.
