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Homemade champagne made from blackcurrant leaves is a great alternative to the traditional grape drink. Hand-made champagne will not only help you freshen up in the summer heat, but also create a friendly festive atmosphere. It has a pleasant aroma and excellent taste, is easy to drink, but at the same time it can turn your head. In addition, a refreshing drink is quite easy to make at home.
The benefits and harms of champagne from currant leaves
Many people know firsthand about the benefits of blackcurrant leaves. In addition to the rich content of vitamins and minerals, the leaves synthesize vitamin C, which is then distributed to other parts of the plant. Remarkably, the largest amount of this vitamin accumulates by the end of the growing season - in August. If you collect raw materials for champagne during this period, then the benefits of the drink for the body will be maximum. The homemade sparkling drink has a tonic effect on the body, stimulates brain activity, and gives visual acuity. But this positive effect is possible only with the use of champagne in moderation.
Limiting the use of homemade blackcurrant champagne or completely abandoning it is necessary for people suffering from:
- thrombophlebitis;
- inflammatory processes in the digestive organs;
- high pressure;
- arrhythmias;
- poor blood clotting;
- mental disorders;
- alcoholism.
Ingredients for Currant Leaves Champagne
In order to make homemade currant champagne, you need to prepare everything you need in advance - raw materials, containers and corks. Of the ingredients you will need:
- Fresh leaves of black currant. They must be clean, free from stains and traces of disease or the activity of harmful insects. It is best to collect raw materials in dry weather, not earlier than 10 o'clock in the morning, so that the dew has time to evaporate. Blackcurrant champagne leaves can be plucked by hand or cut with scissors.
- Yeast is needed to ferment blackcurrant champagne. It is advisable to use wine yeast, but if such yeast could not be obtained, you can use ordinary dry ones.
- Granulated sugar will help to activate the fermentation process.
- Lemon will add the necessary acidity to the taste of champagne and double the vitamin content of the drink.
In the process of making homemade champagne, choosing the right container is just as important as quality raw materials. Glass bottles are suitable for fermentation. But you need to store the drink only in champagne bottles or other containers with thick walls that can withstand gas pressure. It is desirable that the glass is brown or dark green to protect the drink from oxidation. It is also worth preparing a little more plugs, just in case.
How to make homemade champagne from blackcurrant leaves
Making champagne at home is a risky business, especially if the preparation technology has not been tested before.Therefore, there is no need to rush to prepare a large volume of drink at once, you should start with a small portion. For a traditional recipe you will need:
- 30-40 g of black currant leaves;
- 1 medium lemon;
- 200 g granulated sugar;
- 1 tsp wine yeast (or dry baker's);
- 3 liters of drinking water.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the leaves thoroughly under running water and chop coarsely (you can not chop, but use whole ones). Fold into a bottle.
- Peel the lemon. Cut off a layer of white rind from the peel. Cut the peel and pulp of the lemon into pieces, remove the seeds, and also put in a bottle. Then add sugar and pour cold boiled water.
- Close the bottle with the mixture with a nylon cap and put it on the sunniest windowsill, where it is warmest. Within 2 days, until the sugar is completely dissolved, shake the contents gently from time to time.
- After that, add yeast dissolved in a small amount of warm water to the mixture. Cover the bottle loosely with a lid and wait 2-3 hours, during which the fermentation process should begin.
- After that, put a water seal (water seal) on the jar and transfer it to a cool place for 7-10 days.
- After this time, strain the drink through several layers of gauze and refrigerate for a day. During this time, a precipitate will fall out, which must be disposed of by carefully pouring the champagne into a clean container. After that add 4 tbsp. l. sugar (preferably in the form of sugar syrup), stir and carefully pour into clean bottles. Close very tightly with corks (for this you can use plastic champagne corks, but cork is better). To increase the strength and reliability of the closure, the corks are additionally reinforced with wire, then sealed with sealing wax or wax.
- In this form, the bottles are moved to a basement or other cold place for 1-2 months.
Terms and conditions of storage
Homemade blackcurrant champagne, sealed with a cork, can be stored for 1 year or a little more, but subject to certain rules:
- The temperature in the room where the currant champagne is stored should be within + 3-12 ° C. If such conditions cannot be created in the apartment, the bottle should be stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
- Light has a detrimental effect on champagne, so the sun's rays should not penetrate the room.
- Humidity is within 75%, with a decrease in this indicator, the cork will dry out.
And the most important rule is that the bottle should be stored only in a horizontal position. Thus, the cork will always remain elastic and will not crumble when opened.
Conclusion
Champagne made from black currant leaves is an economical and profitable option in terms of preserving the family budget. The sparkling drink has a pronounced currant-lemon flavor. And don't be discouraged if your first attempt is unsuccessful. Next time it will definitely turn out, and, perhaps, soon homemade currant champagne will oust the factory drink from the festive table.
