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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.

  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 the sugar until nearly dissolved.

  2. Return to 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 let it set until needed.

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
Their pectin and acid help the pulp thicken and set into a firm paste.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, once boiled down, helps the paste hold its shape and keep well.

The step that matters

Boiling the mixture after adding the sugar. Sugar added to hot pulp can scorch on the bottom of the pan, and the mixture thickens quickly as water evaporates. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly and prevents burning, which would give a bitter flavor and dark color.

“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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