Fresh finds: Currants

Currants are tiny red, white or black berries related to gooseberries. You'll usually see red or white (sometimes called "golden") currants; black currants are rarer. All have flavors that range from tart to sweet, slightly lemony and astringent, depending on how ripe the berries were when plucked and the type of bush they're from. Currants grow wild across the United States, according to the Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service. Currants are usually packed still on the stems (called strigs).

Refrigerate currants unwashed, and wash them just before using. The Iowa State University Extension Service said they'll keep for up to four weeks if kept at 31 to 32 degrees and 90-95 percent humidity. Most of us don't have those conditions, so use them within a week.

It is easiest to strip the fragile berries from their strigs if you freeze them (wash, pat dry with paper towels, lay on a cookie sheet to freeze).

You'll probably use currants in jellies. The lightly cooked, slightly crushed fruit releases its juices, so the seeds don't matter. Black currants sometimes are used in juices or in pies and other desserts. They're also superb in an easy pan sauce for roasted or sauteed duck or chicken. Add them to the pan juices (along with a little cassis if you have it) and cook down to a sauce; finish with butter.

Supper Club contest

If you are a member of a supper club, here's your chance to win an evening with a chef, who will prepare your club a five-course meal.

The National Honey Board is sponsoring a "Pure and Natural Supper Club Contest," asking supper clubs to prepare a meal for at least six members featuring one recipe that requires 1/3 cup of 100 percent pure honey in addition to other natural ingredients. The ingredients might be free-range chicken and organic fruits and vegetables. The honey recipe does not have to be original.

Entrants should submit a photo from the club's "Pure and Natural"-themed meal along with a 100-word response to the question: "Why are pure and natural foods important to you?"

Entries must be postmarked by Sept. 30. Visit honey.com/

pureandnatural for more

information.

Freezing peaches

The Clemson Extension Service offers these tips for freezing peaches:

• Peel by dipping peaches a few at a time into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer immediately into ice water. Skins should slip off easily.
• Cut in half, remove pit and slice into the bite size you prefer.
• To prevent browning, treat with a solution of six 500-milligram vitamin C tablets per gallon of water. (Vitamin C may be packaged as ascorbic acid.)
• Drain and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar for each quart of peaches. One quart equals 4 cups. Stir gently and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Pack into freezer bags, leaving 3 to 4 inches at the top of the bag. Squeeze out extra air, seal, label and freeze. Rigid plastic containers may be used; leave about an inch of head space before freezing.