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Gooseberries, Compote of

A sweet and tart compote made from gooseberries simmered in syrup and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Gooseberries, Compote of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gooseberries

  1. Top and tail the gooseberries, then pour boiling water over them.

  2. Plunge the gooseberries into cold water mixed with vinegar to keep their color.

Make the compote

  1. Make a pint of syrup and bring it to a boil.

  2. Drain the gooseberries and add them to the boiling syrup.

  3. Simmer gently until the fruit is pulped and tender but not broken.

  4. Boil the syrup for 2-3 minutes.

  5. Dish the gooseberries on a glass dish.

  6. Pour the syrup over the gooseberries.

  7. Serve cold.

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Syrup + vinegartop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together385 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Syrup + peppertop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together298 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Gooseberries
Provide the main fruit, which softens and pulps during gentle simmering to form the compote.
Syrup
Adds sweetness and moisture, and carries the fruit's flavor through the compote.
Vinegar
Acidity in the cold water helps the gooseberries keep their color.

The step that matters

Simmer gently until the fruit is pulped and tender but not broken. Gentle heat softens the fruit's pectin and cell walls slowly, so the berries become tender without bursting. A hard boil breaks them apart and makes the compote cloudy and uneven.

“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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