Pholia Farm Dairy, Oregon

Dishing Up the Dirt

 

Support local farms/CSAs.

So God made a farmer

 

The author is unkown, but, USA Today reports that this Paul Harvey monologue was originally given to the Future Farmers of America (now FFA) convention in 1978. Harvey, who died in 2009, was a longtime radio favorite in the Midwest.

wooly ‘wednesday’ every day

Lately, every day is a wooly day! Wooly good renewable resource!!

Holiday treats… simple horderves with goat cheese

wooly wednesday: lambing (and kidding) mitts

image via Tolt Yarn and Wool

Lambing Mitts – Tolt Yarn and Wool

One-pot Pad Thai

The King of Ricotta!

wooly wednesday: wool & lavender

image / hand made by sheepy hollow

DIY Lavender Wool Wash by Ivy Nest

DIY Modern Mothballs / Herbal Sachet here.

red currant jelly: fancy edition

Growing up, we always had a veggie garden. We also had a small variety of fruit trees on our suburban lot, including several red currant bushes. So, it’s not unusual that I also have two currant bushes in my garden, one red and one white.

I religiously harvest the red currants (late June) and sometimes not very often, the white currants. I was told by a ‘professional chef’ that the white currents do not have much flavor compared to the red currants!? Well, I don’t know about that, because I think the white currants are actually a bit sweeter (than the red) and produce a pale pink ‘jelly’. Perhaps the pink/light blush colored currant jelly isn’t as appealing/traditional??

But, I digress! Earlier this month, I picked enough red (and a few white) currants to extract the juice for three ‘future’ batches of jelly. In all my years of jelly-making, I have never used a jelly bag! I’ve used kitchen towels and layers of cheese cloth which time-and-time-again simply ‘blinded’ and made a mess of everything.

Red currant harvest from one bush.

I finally surrendered knowing that my red currant jelly would never receive a blue ribbon (for lack of clarity) at the Fair. Instead, I typically use a food mill to obtain the juice (and some pulp which coincidentally contain all the good health essentials… according to my sister) and a fine sieve to catch any wayward seeds. The remaining ‘juice & pulp’ is delicious nevertheless (but, definitely NOT the gorgeous clarity of red currant jelly)!

De-stemmed and washed.

Most recently, I picked the last of the remaining ripened red (and a few white) currants. I honestly did not believe I would have enough JUICE to make another batch of red currant jelly! I began to investigate the history of red currant jelly and look for alternate recipes.

I found an interesting read at Beekman1802 here. Josh and Brent have a wonderful article about red currant jelly and their recipe here.

Did you know…? “In France, the clarity of a homemaker’s currant jelly was long considered an indicator of her wifely skills. In fact the french are so enamored with this tart berry that a small town in Northeast France has been producing what might be the world’s most expensive jam since 1344.”

Next, while I thought I would not have enough red currants, I began to ponder what ‘juice’ I might use to supplement the extracted juice necessary for the recipe… about six cups of this wonderful ‘jewel-like’ red beauty?!  Did you know… a mere three ounces of this specialty jam retails for more than $40 in the U.S.??? What??? My pantry-full of red currant jelly is worth a fortune and should be under lock ‘n key!! HAHA

Then I thought +++WINE+++. I thought about a locally cultivated Michigan wine (versus a commercially manufactured grape or apple juice) that would compliment my red currant elixir?? I’ve seen a lot of wine jelly at craft shows in recent years… so, why not add a bit of wine instead? Another recipe/how-to search ensued. Wine jelly recipes abound and was simple enough for a well-seasoned jelly-maker like moi! Here’s one using a Riesling wine!

Next, I barred no expense!! Since this was going to be a supreme fancy red currant jelly, I decided to purchase my first jelly bag (just like Josh and Brent)!!

But, I found my jelly bag at Meijer for $6.99. WOOT!! Next, I prepared my red currants by removing the stems and giving them a gentle wash (any missed leaves, etc, float and can be easily removed). I actually followed the Beekman1802 recipe to make my jelly… I actually had eleven cups of red currants (more than the requisite 10-cups).

After allowing the juice to drain overnight, I measured only four cups juice. BOO!!!

Pulp from red currants.

The ‘juice’.

WHAT!!!???? Only four cups of the elixir!??? I was very careful NOT to squish the pulp through the bag… since I was also looking for award-winning clarity. HAHA

I would need an ‘award-winning’ local Michigan wine to supplement my red currant juice for the jelly recipe! I selected a red wine from Chateau Grand Traverse also found at Meijer!

Drum-roll please…

The Mr., my mom (who’s 90 years-old) and myself had a great evening making our ‘fancy’ red currant & wine jelly (about an additional 2-cups of wine was necessary)… and enjoying the rest of the bottle of Select Sweet Traverse Red wine! So good!!

The final product!

Lovely red currant (and wine) jelly!

Finally, crystal clear jelly!

Something homemade and delicious to go with our farmstead goat cheese!!