Blackcurrants

[Bonzo 2000]

We appear to have a bumper crop of blackcurrants in our new garden - this is our first summer in the house. Never actually having tasted fresh blackcurrants, I naively expected them to have the flavour of Ribena, or jam or throat sweets. However, although the berries are now fat and black and shiny, they still have a very tart, sour taste. Should they be picked now, or should I wait until they become a bit sweeter and more, well, blackcurrant flavoured? I dont want to lose them. A pot of blackcurrant jam to the best answer!

[oldwoman]

I think you answered your own question Ribena/Sugar. Jam/Sugar, Throat sweets/Sugar

[ugly_bob]

blackcurrants are very sharp - i think they're probably ready. Our bush hasn't got any on - the deer have had them all, so not sure if they're ready this year or not yet.

[Cetti]

Wait until they are fully ripe when they will a tiny bit sweeter - but not much - then make a few pots of jam or jelly. If you are not a jammy family or can't be bothered then freeze them to have over the winter months in crumbles or pies.

[Thunderbird+]

As a kid we had a row of blackcurrants at the bottom of our garden and I think I aquired a taste for these wonderful fruits from an early age, I soon learnt to tell which ones where ripe for picking by sampling a few, and if they tasted good I would ask my mum for the colander to collect them in. They dont all ripen all at the same time, so we just picked them when wanted some and my mum would magically transform them into jam and small scrmmy tarts.
If you put off picking for too long thouhg, the birds will scoff the lot!.
If in doubt, you can always cheat and ask at a local PYO, Farmers rarely miss a trick! Good Luck Tbird+

[WendyS]

I picked mine about two weeks ago because the birds were starting to show an interest but yes, the fresh ones really do have quite a sharp tang, even when ripe. Leave them as long as you can and try and pick only the really ripe ones and go back for the others later. If the blackbirds start descending you may have to protect the bushes with old net curtains or a some agricultural fleece.
They freeze beautifully and can be mixed in with other summer fruits like raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants to make fruit compote during the winter, or fruit crumbles.