Cassis aka black currants

Story from 2022, when I still lived in our countryside house in Latvia.

While I was biking today, I passed a house where an old lady, sitting on a bench, was picking blackcurrants. It reminded me of how I used to sit with my grandmother, hat on, next to endless bushes of currants, filling one bucket after another, as jam, made out of them, was the first remedy she gave us during the winter when cold sneaked upon us.

I do not make that jam anymore (I wonder why), but I like to freeze them for winter smoothies with mango or banana, or to boil a warm drink when that cold does visit us. Blackcurrants are very rich in Vitamin C, antioxidants, and polyphenols. Not to mention vitamins A, B, and E, they boost kidneys, and the immune system soothes the skin and works magic on our bodies in many ways.

Although jam and juice were the only way we consumed currants when I was a kid, I later discovered that the French love the healing properties of these berries as much as we do, just in a different way - liqueur called cassis and sorbets. And then there are Brits who cook them in puddings and crumbles, and Scandinavians who like to mix them with vodka for the more robust experience. Blackcurrants are magical. From small to large, from sour to sweet. And as I'm writing this, I'm wondering what to make with mine - blackcurrant green apple cordial, sorbet, jam, or eat them just like that.