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Dessert

Gooseberry Paste

A thick paste made from boiled gooseberry pulp and sugar.

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

Gooseberry Paste

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the pulp

  1. Press the gooseberries through a sieve to extract the juice for jelly, leaving some moisture.

  2. Weigh the pulp and boil it for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until it forms a dry paste.

Make the paste

  1. Off the heat, stir in 3 cups of sugar for every 4 lbs of fruit until nearly dissolved.

  2. Return to heat and boil the mixture for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

  3. Pour into molds or shallow pans and allow to set before serving.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Gooseberries
Provide the pectin, acid and pulp that set into a firm, sliceable paste.
Sugar
Sweetens and, with long boiling, helps thicken the pulp into a firm, preserved paste.

The step that matters

Boiling the mixture after adding sugar, while stirring constantly. Sugar-rich fruit pulp scorches easily on the bottom of the pan as it thickens. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly and prevents burning, which would give a bitter flavour and dark colour.

“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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