Creme de cassis

[qahtan]

 DE CASSIS
For each pound of blackcurrants:

8 fl oz red wine
Sugar
8 fl oz brandy

Put the blackcurrants into a large bowl and mash them a little with the back of a wooden spoon. Pour on the red wine, cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow the fruit to soak for two days.

Liquidise the fruit and wine in a blender, tip the whole mass into a clean filter/fine strainer and press the liquid through. Measure the juice which results, pour it into a large preserving pan and add sugar at the rate of 1 oz for each 2 fluid ounces of juice (10 oz sugar per UK pint).

Stir the syrup over a low heat to dissolve all the sugar. Simmer very gently for 2 hours, maintain a temperature of only 70-80C, till the syrup is slightly reduced.

Let the syrup cool, skim the surface of any foam and add the brandy.

Pour into clean bottles and leave for a month or so before broaching.

By that time a sediment will have formed, so best to carefully rebottle... qahtan

[Sparkly]

Sounds interesting! My mum loves this. Not sure we will have a big enough crop of blackcurrants yet though!

[gwynleg]

Just looked for this after seeing the thread about blackcurrants. sounds great to me - thats my next project then!

[tim]

Was brought up on Cassis & Lemon - no one told me about the additives!!

[qahtan]

 this is pretty potent stuff. ;-) hick, hick double hick..... qahtan

[Sparkly]

have got my blackcurrants in the wine!!

[calendula]

fantastic as Kir or if you feel flush a Royal Kir 

[qahtan]

 Yes super, a couple of the local wineries here make Kir Royale, in fact it is what we had for Karen our daughters wedding, there was other stuff but the Kir Royale went down really well. qahtan

[1066]

Was brought up on Cassis & Lemon - no one told me about the additives!!

nothing like starting them young!!

Thanks for the recipe will be filing that one to try 

[Susiebelle]

Me too - thanks for that qahtan

[jazzidoodle]

just managed to pick enough for a batch. Can't wait! Where can I get more blackcurrants from - will have to look out for pick your own, mind you suppose is getting a little late even up here in Scotland, oh well next year!

[Sparkly]

Just tried ours. Thanks very much Qahtan!!!It is very very good. Had to try a bottle before giving some to my mum for Xmas (quality control!) 

[qahtan]

, Good glad, you are enjoying it,,, and it is soooooooo good for you...

   and you need it this year with all that bad weather you are having,,,,

  Merry Christmas.................. qahtan



    

[qahtan]

 I have just filtered 4 litres of Elderberry wine, 3 of raspberry , both have been hidden away in the back of a cupboard downstairs, and both have dates on 2005, there was quite a bit of sediment on both of which I was able to filter a lot of it out and into another bottle with hopes it will settle and give me a little more good stuff....
 mighty good stuff, not quite as good as the cassis but not bad at all, 

   hick, qahtan

[saddad]

The only liquer denser than Grenadine according to The Royal Society of Chemistry magazine....