Gardening, is a family tradition and I am told I come from a long line of green thumbs going all the way back to my ancestors in Poland. Ever since I could remember I have spent summer’s playing in gardens, picking ripened vegetables, and traveling to plots in Wisconsin where our family used to have large vegetable and fruit gardens.

One of my favorite summer garden traditions consists of picking currants, little red berries with a tart taste. In Polish we call them porzeczki.  They ripen in early July, and it has always been my summer tradition to be the one who spent an afternoon picking these red berries from our bushes out back.

We use currants to make my favorite summertime drink: Compote. I’m sure you could call this drink “Currant Juice” or perhaps it has another, more official, name for it, but Compote is what we called it in our family. To me this drink tastes like summertime and I always look forward to a cool refreshing glass in the summer.

This drink is too good not to share, so here is the recipe below – I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 1 ziploc bag of frozen currants ( a small quart size bag)
• 1 ziploc bag of frozen cherries (a small quart size bag)
• 2 or 3 stalks of rhubarb sticks (can be frozen or freshly cut)
• Sugar to taste (I usually use about 7 tablespoons, but this is a personal preference)
• Water to fill a large pot

Directions 

1. Combine all fruits in a large pot and fill to the top with water. Bring the contents to a full boil – the whole pot should be bubbling!
2. Once the pot has boiled turn off the heat and let the mixture begin to cool.

1. While the mixture is still warm add sugar to taste. Make sure you do this when the pot is still warm as it will help dissolve the sugar. I typically use 7 heaping tablespoons, but this can be altered to fit your own personal taste.
2. Let the sugar and fruit cool. When ready to refrigerate drain the mixture of all the left over berries and rhubarb sticks. The fruit will be discolored and will have lost its vibrancy after the boil.
3. Enjoy a cool refreshing summer drink!