[Sca-cooks] Johannesburg Torte and Rumpolt cookbook

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

From: <kerrimart at mindspring.com>
>I've noticed that most receipies call for black currants.  Are red currants a
>mondern creation? (like tangeloes?)
>
>Hrosvitha von Celle

I can't speak to the Johannesburg Torte, which may call for fresh
currants, for all i know, as i haven't looked at the original recipe.

But when most Medieval and Renaissance recipes call for "currants"
they are calling for "raysins of Curance" (various spellings) which
are those tiny dried brown fruits called currants that are actually a
variety of raisin. In the US, these are available in most
supermarkets where the regular raisins and other dried fruits are.

Of course, modern Germany is generally the source for bottled currant
juice - made from *real* currants.

Back in the late 1960s i lived in New York City, Haagen Dasz (or
whatever the spelling of those made-up words is) was owned by an
actual local family and had as many ice cream flavors as you could
count on one hand. I would buy their boysenberry sherbet and put a
scoop of it in a glass of black currant juice with some soda water,
and mush it up to make a "freeze". It was soda lishus.

Anahita