AT THE TABLE WITH JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

Garden berries with cream

Name: Garden berries with cream
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 350 g strawberries, hulled and sliced; 150 g ripe blackcurrants, fresh or thawed; 2–3 tbsp sugar, to taste; 200 ml heavy cream (¾ cup + 1 tbsp); ½ tsp vanilla extract, optional

Blackcurrants can be sharp: taste the fruit before deciding how much sugar to use.

Dessert10 minServes 4

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Garden berries with cream — a painted table — A painted table · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

The president who grew dessert

More about John Quincy Adams →

The sixth president, a diplomat and later a long-serving congressman.

Historical reconstruction

The White House garden supplied strawberries and blackcurrants during John Quincy Adams’s presidency. We turn those recorded fruits into a simple dessert with cream, letting the tart currants balance the sweetness.

The president & the table

John Quincy Adams took an active interest in gardening at the White House. The White House Historical Association records strawberries and blackcurrants as regular fruit at his presidential table.

Behind this story

William Bushong, “White House Vegetable Gardens,” White House Historical Association.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Serves 4

What you’ll need

350 g strawberries, hulled and sliced
150 g ripe blackcurrants, fresh or thawed
2–3 tbsp sugar, to taste
200 ml heavy cream (¾ cup + 1 tbsp)
½ tsp vanilla extract, optional

Let’s make it

Rinse fresh fruit and drain well. Remove blackcurrant stems.
Toss berries with 2 tablespoons sugar. Stand for 5 minutes; taste and add a little more sugar if tart.
Stir optional vanilla into the cream without whipping.
Divide berries among four bowls and pour the cream around them just before serving.

Cooking notes

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.