True currants are deciduous shrubs in the genus Ribes and are related to gooseberries. They are are found in northern climates where winters are cold an summers are warm. The currants may be red (Ribes rubrum), black (R. nigrum) or white (a variety of red currant). They all have a sweet acidic flavor but the white currants are the sweetest. Currants can be eaten fresh or used for making jams, preserves, sauces, filling for a variety of baked goods, and wine. My paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright, included 5 recipes for currant wine in her book, Old Time Recipes for Homemade Wines. Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons
Here is the first recipe for current wine in the words of my grandmother. Note that she did not specify the kind of currant to use.
Take four gallons of currants, not too ripe, and strip them into an earthen stein that has a cover to it . Then take two and one-half gallons of water and five and one-half pounds of double refined sugar; boil the sugar and water together, skim it, and pour it boiling hot on the currants, letting it stand forty-eight hours; then strain it through a flannel bag into the stein again, let it stand a fortnight to settle, and bottle it out.
To buy Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines by Helen S. Wright from Amazon.com Click Here.
Karen Meyers