# Drying Currants?



## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

Last year I had a bumper crop of currants and it looks like I'm headed to round 2. I don't have a dehydrator ... has anyone tried drying something like currants on cookie sheets in the sun, or something similar?

Any ideas of how long it takes to get them to "dried" enough to store? I don't mind putting them into the freezer, just in case they didn't get quite dry enough, but I like cooking with dried currants and free off the bushes beats out of the box I had to pay for any day!

Thanks..

T


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

What sort of currants do you grow? Black currants are nasty raw, can't imagine they would be good dried. Also, unless you have completely different shops where you are the dried currants in the store are dried grapes, not red or black currants.


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

Although I have never dried currants, I have dried grapes -- I would imagine the technique is similar.

The skins need to be "checked": if they're not cracked in some way, the fruit takes *forever* to dry. We blanched ours in boiling water, then put them on dehydrator trays. They made nice raisins.

Without a dehydrator, you could use an oven with a pilot light or on very low with the door cracked, or in the car parked in the sun with the windows cracked.

Dried fruit most often does not taste like it does raw!


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## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

Oh.. the CAR! That's a brilliant idea!

Blanching.. ok, I'll give this a shot. I can't wait to see the look on the husband's face when he opens the car door tho...


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

I tried drying some red currants and they did indeed take forever. Actually they never did get "dry". They were very sticky and I just put them in the freezer. Guess I'll try the blanching next time. I understand blueberries have to be done this way, plus poking a hole in each berry!


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

mistletoad said:


> What sort of currants do you grow? Black currants are nasty raw, can't imagine they would be good dried. Also, unless you have completely different shops where you are the dried currants in the store are dried grapes, not red or black currants.


Guess the black currents we grow here are much different than those you are familiar with or it is all about matter of taste.

I really enjoy right off the shrub black current, current jam, etc.

The ones in all of the stores around here are currents and not just dried grapes. You can easily tell by the seeds in them. 

They will eventually dehydrate on the plant but will be so dry and hard they are almost unusable.


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

I'm guessing it is a matter of taste as I believe ribes negrum are the same the world over. I worked on a black currant farm in my teens - that's when I learned that the raw ones are nothing at all like the cooked ones I grew up on.

I've still never seen a dried black currant on sale anywhere. Even the ones I've seen advertised as black currants are zante grapes. I would be interested in trying dried black currants though (we have not been able to grow them here successfully) so if you can point me to a supplier I would be very grateful.


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