No. 3438 — Blackcurrant Water, Another Method
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 3438 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Fill a glazed pot with the ripest blackcurrants, tie blue sugar paper over it and prick the paper with a stick.
Set in an oven immediately after bread baking. Remove when the currants have softened completely and turned brown. Drain through a sieve, collecting the juice for syrup.
Put the spent berries into a large bottle and fill with cooled boiled water. Half a bottle berries or even less is sufficient; top up with water.
Keep on ice until the frosts. After a few days the water is ready, according to the author; draw it off and top up as in the previous method. It extracts more quickly but does not keep as long.
The original says to drain as in recipe No. 3426, although that numbered recipe concerns cherry nalivka.