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To Bottle Gooseberries

A method for preserving gooseberries in bottles using water, alum, and oil.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Bottle Gooseberries

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and steam

  1. Wash the gooseberries and fill the bottle with them.

  2. Fill the bottles with cold water and add a piece of alum.

  3. Place the bottles in a pan filled with water and steam until the gooseberries rise slightly.

Rest and seal

  1. Remove the bottles and let them stand for three days.

  2. Fill the bottles with boiled cold water and seal with oil on top.

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 fruit being preserved, providing the flavour and texture of the finished bottles.
Alum
Helps firm the fruit so it holds its shape during bottling.

The step that matters

Steaming until the gooseberries rise slightly. Steaming drives air out of the fruit so it sinks in the bottle; too little leaves air pockets, while too much softens the fruit and can break it down.

“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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