Gooseberry Jam, White or Green
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Select very ripe gooseberries, either white or green, and remove the stems and tails.
Make the jam
Boil the sugar with water for about 30 minutes, carefully removing the foam as it rises.
Add the gooseberries and simmer gently until the jam is clear and thick.
Test a little of the jam on a plate; if it jellies when cold, it is done.
Pot and store
Pour the jam into pots and cover with oiled paper.
Seal with tissue paper brushed on both sides with the unbeaten white of an egg, and store in a dry place.
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
- Provide the fruit flavour and, with the sugar, the body of the jam as it sets.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set into a thick, jellied texture as it cooks.
The step that matters
Testing for set. Gooseberries contain natural pectin, but the jam only sets when cooked long enough to concentrate the sugar. Testing a cold plate sample shows whether it will jell, so the jam is neither runny nor overcooked and stiff.
“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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