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Dessert

Gooseberry Cheese

A preserved cheese made by cooking gooseberries with sugar and drying.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Gooseberry Cheese

Oven, in the book's wordsA cool oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a cool oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Remove the tops and stalks from the gooseberries.

  2. Bake the gooseberries in a 350°F (175°C) oven until soft.

  3. Pulp the baked gooseberries through a fine sieve.

Make the cheese

  1. Boil the pulp gently, adding ½ pound of loaf sugar a little at a time.

  2. Boil, skim, and stir for 30 minutes.

Dry and store

  1. Pour the mixture onto small plates and dry it before the fire or in a cool oven.

  2. Once dry, keep the cheese between folds of white paper.

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

Ripe red gooseberries
Provide the fruit body and natural pectin that help the pulp thicken and set as it cooks.
Loaf sugar
Adds sweetness and, as the mixture concentrates, helps it set firm and preserves it.

The step that matters

Boil the pulp gently while adding the sugar. Sugar and pulp can scorch on the bottom of the pan if heat is too high or stirring stops. Enough gentle cooking concentrates the sugar and fruit pectin so the cheese sets properly when dried.

“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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