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Dessert

Gooseberry Paste

A thick paste made from boiled gooseberries 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

Make the paste

  1. Press the gooseberries through a sieve to extract the juice for jelly, without draining them too closely.

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

  3. Off the heat, stir in 6 ounces of pounded sugar for each pound of fruit until nearly dissolved.

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

Set and serve

  1. Pour the paste into molds or shallow pans and turn it out when ready to serve.

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 pulp and natural pectin that gives the paste its body and set.
Pounded sugar
Sweetens the paste and helps it thicken into a firm, sliceable texture as it cooks down.

The step that matters

Stirring during the final boil. Once the sugar is added the paste is thick and sugar-rich, so it scorches easily on the base of the pan. Constant stirring keeps it from burning and gives an even colour and flavour.

“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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