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Dessert

Gooseberry Paste

A thick paste made by boiling gooseberry pulp and sugar until dry.

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 pulp

  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.

Add sugar and finish

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

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

  3. 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 set the paste as it reduces.
Sugar
Sweetens the paste and, with long boiling, helps it thicken into a firm, sliceable set.

The step that matters

Boiling with sugar while stirring constantly. Sugar-rich fruit mixtures scorch easily on the bottom of the pan as they thicken. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly and prevents burnt flavour and dark specks in the paste.

“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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