Live well all year round with Blackcurrants
With cold and flu season on the horizon, there is no better time of year to ensure you’re getting your daily dose of brilliant blackcurrants – small, mighty and bursting with goodness. Packed with health benefits, immune-boosting properties, antioxidants and essential vitamins, the blackcurrant is one of the most nutrient-rich fruits out there. Oranges have long been thought to be the richest source of Vitamin C. However, blackcurrants actually contain up to four times more Vitamin C than oranges, whilst they deliver approximately twice as many antioxidants as blueberries, which are typically considered one of the best natural sources.
Although fresh berries are only available during the summer months, blackcurrants can still be a part of your day-to-day diet if you make the switch to frozen berries. Visit British Frozen Fruits to purchase frozen blackcurrants from one of our growers, Anthony Snell. Keep your freezer well-stocked and you can either defrost them overnight to swirl into your porridge the next morning or add them frozen to your smoothie for an icy blackcurrant zing!
Whether you drink blackcurrants in Ribena, bake fresh berries into a delicious cheesecake dessert or spread them over your morning toast as jam, everyone has a favourite way to enjoy them. Another of our growers, Andrew Husband, has shared his favourite blackcurrant mousse recipe with us below, courtesy of his wife, Julie.
Blackcurrant Mouse – A Recipe from Julie Husband
Ingredients
½ lb blackcurrants
¼ pint water
1 blackcurrant jelly
4 eggs
6 oz caster sugar
To decorate
½ pint whipping cream
A few blackcurrants
Method
String and wash fruit. Put into a pan with water and sugar and cook gently to a soft pulp. Cut jelly into squares and stir into the fruit until melted. Sieve the mixture and leave puree to cool.
Meanwhile, separate egg yolks from whites. Beat yolks with sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the puree.
Whisk whites stiffly and fold into mixture.
Turn into a glass bowl and leave to set.
Whisk the cream until light and fluffy and spread over half the surface of the pudding.
Fill forcing bag with star pipe attached and make criss-cross lines over top. Decorate crosses with a few blackcurrants.
Enjoy!
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