Currants grow in tiny grape-like clusters. The small berries come in different colors black, white known as albinos and purplish-red they’re quiet tart and hence are not that delicious when eaten raw. A nutritional highlight is that they’re packed with vitamin C. It feels like currants are more popular in Europe compared to the US I don’t encounter them often on menus, maybe people just don’t know them well enough.
Currants in the kitchen
The natural tartness of the berries is a nice balance to rich dishes such as pork belly and duck. I like to cook them with a touch of honey or maple and lemon zest they make a welcome match with the gamy flavor of hare, pheasant, venison etc..
The combination game and currants comes naturally since such wild forest animals like to eat them.
Sugary desserts such as meringues offer a great foil for the tart berries. When I was a kid one of my favorite cakes was my mother’s red currant meringue tart. Another favorite of mine is Rote Grüetze it’s a kind of jello that is often served in Germany in the hot summer season. Red currants make a picturesque garnish in a sweet drink and let’s not forget the famous cocktail Kir Royal, which is made with black currant liqueur.
(red currant schnitten/cake)
No quick pick
When picking currants you’ll have red stained fingers and collecting the tiny berries is a painstaking long affair. Most likely this is why you don’t see them in the first place at markets.
The following recipe makes a lovely cake which are called Schnitten in Austria the word explains a shallow cake base usually topped or filled with some sort of a berry jelly in this case red currants folded into meringue. Guten Appetit (enyoy in german)
Red Currant Meringue Schnitten
(9 inch round or square baking pan)
1 pound red currants, de-stemmed and rinsed
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 ounces butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
6 ounces whole milk
8 ounces whole-wheat flower
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 egg whites
3 ounces sugar, organic preferably
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a bowl carefully combine red currants with maple syrup with a spoon.
- In a small saucepot melt butter.
- In a bowl whisk eggs, honey, maple syrup, milk and melted butter together then add flour and baking powder. The batter should be not mixed too much since this makes a tough cake.
- Grease a baking mold with non-stick cooking spray or butter.
- Fill currant batter into the mold and bake for 20 minutes or a cake tester comes out clean when pierced in the middle. Invert cake onto a plate and let cool.
- In a kitchen mixer whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- With a rubber spatula fold currant/honey mix into the whipped egg whites.
- Spoon egg white mixture onto the baked cake base.
Chef’s tip: Caramelize the egg white topping with a torch or bake the cake in a very hot oven for 3-5 minutes or until the topping is browned.
