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To Preserve Green Gooseberries

A method of preserving green gooseberries in a sugar syrup using vine leaves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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To Preserve Green Gooseberries

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the stems of the gooseberries into four quarters, leaving the blossom end intact.

  2. Remove all seeds from the gooseberries and group five or six together, tying them with strong thread.

  3. Place a large handful of vine leaves in the bottom of a pan, followed by layers of gooseberries and more vine leaves in between.

Heat and cool

  1. Cover the pan tightly to prevent steam from escaping, and heat on a low fire.

  2. Once the gooseberries are scalding hot, remove from heat.

  3. Let the gooseberries cool completely.

  4. Repeat the heating and cooling process until the gooseberries are a good green color.

  5. Drain the gooseberries in a sieve.

Make the syrup and preserve

  1. Make a thin syrup by boiling 1 pound of sugar in 1 pint of water, skimming well.

  2. When the syrup is half-cold, add the gooseberries and let them sit overnight.

  3. Boil the gooseberries once a day for three days.

  4. Prepare another syrup.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Gooseberries
The main fruit, which is firmed and turned green by controlled heating and cooling.
Sugar
Sweetens the fruit and draws water out of it, helping it keep as a preserve.

The step that matters

Heating only until scalding hot, then cooling fully. Overheating softens the fruit and breaks its skin, so short heating followed by full cooling keeps the gooseberries firm while the green colour develops.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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