Cassis

“Excellent velvety liqueur, warm and sweet, which after a pour of volcanic burgundy, will put a note of sweetness on the palate like a minor trill ending a Bach fugue,” exclaimed the Duchess of Clermont Tonnerre, in “l’Almanach des bonnes choses,” a sort of “Michelin” guide under Louis XIV.
Could anyone wish for a better introduction to Burgundy blackcurrants?

A little history

Blackcurrants have been grown as a table fruit since 1571. Considered a panacea, its cultivation developed to such an extent that by 1873, the Côte-d’Or was bursting at the seams with fruit, with over a million blackcurrant vines spread over 300 hectares. The “Noir de Bourgogne” variety is of unrivalled aromatic quality,
as is its other cousin from our region, the royal de Naples.

Blackcurrants in all their forms!

Blackcurrants can be used in an almost infinite number of ways: in crème de cassis, which differs from blackcurrant liqueur by having a higher sugar content (250g/L vs. 100 g/L), or in the famous “Kir”, a combination of crème de cassis and Aligoté white wine. This recipe is attributed to Chanoine Kir, Deputy Mayor of Dijon from 1945 to 1967, who used to offer this aperitif to all visitors he received.

Perfumer's secrets!

Blackcurrant buds are used in fine perfumery, notably in the composition of prestigious fragrances such as Amazone, First, Magie Noire, Silence and above all… the mythical Chanel N°5!

In the kitchen!

It’s usually paired with melon, meats such as rabbit, duck and game, as well as clafoutis, crêpes, vacherins and many other desserts.

At the end of a meal, we sometimes like to end on a gourmet note with some Cassissines, blackcurrant fruit pastes whose heart, “le rosalio”, is a small sweet made with blackcurrant liqueur. You’ll find these sweets in delicatessens such as Vedrenne, Mulot and Petitjean, in local pastry shops such as the Paris-Beaune blackcurrant ganache version of the Paris-Brest, and above all, discover all the secrets of its manufacture by visiting the region’s liqueur makers, such as the Cassissium, a museographic space belonging to the Vedrenne house in Nuits Saint Georges, or the Fruirouge Farm in the Hameau de Concoeur.