Black Currant Jam

Living in New England is great! I love having all four seasons and having the ability to go fresh fruit and vegetable picking with each passing season.  Every year, it is a mandatory that I go blueberry picking, and this year was no exception! We ended up picking just over 4 pounds of blueberries! I have already started to make so many different blueberry recipes, but more on that to come in a future post.  For now, lets talk about currants...

Currants are amazing! I love eating them and baking with them, but I absolutely love having them as a jam spread.  Unfortunately, currants just do not seem to be as common around here as they are abroad.  Luckily for me though, when my love and I went blueberry picking this past weekend, we were also able to go currant picking! Yes, our local farm has finally added red and black currants to their crops list! Naturally, I had to pick a couple of pounds worth.  I mean, it makes sense to pick that much when it is just my love and I and we could totally go through that much fruit! Okay, so maybe I went a little over board and got way more than we can eat in a sitting, but that is where making and preserving jam comes in handy! Having a homemade jam is one way to ensure that you can enjoy your freshly picked fruit all year round!

Ingredients:
-Black or red currants
-Sugar
-Water
-Lemon juice or Kirsch (optional)

Note: However many cups of currants you have, use an equal amount of sugar.  I just used 2 cups to fill one jar and 2 cups of sugar.  If you have 4 cups of currants then use 4 cups of sugar and so forth.

Directions:
Wash and remove the stems from the currants.

Place the currants in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover the currants.  Slowly bring to a boil and stir the currants.  Continue cooking until the currants are soft, wilted, and are easily mashed when pushed with a spoon.

From here, you can sieve the currants to remove any seeds.   Since my boyfriend likes "chunk" in his jam, I left pieces of whole currants in the jam.  Place the currant juice back into the sauce pan, and add the sugar.  Stir until the sugar is well dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil.  Once the mixture boils, let it boil for about 5 minutes without stirring.  This is also where you can add a splash of lemon juice or kirsch if you would like.

Remove the mixture from the heat and ladle into jars.  Seal the lead tightly, and turn the jar upside down so that the top seals correctly.  I like to seal my jam this way since I have the sealing lids and it can be easier than doing the hot water bath method.  Let the jam cool completely and store in the fridge.

Enjoy this jam with warm toast, a bagel, or even some freshly baked scones! Pin It