Gooseberry preserve

Name: Gooseberry preserve
Ingredients: 1 kg ripe gooseberries; 500 ml water; 700 g sugar; 1 sour cherry twig; juice of 1/2 medium lemon

Jam - Gooseberry preserve by Ilona I. - Recipia

Gooseberry preserve is served at breakfast, and cooking it in stages keeps the fruit whole in a thick syrup. The gooseberries sit in syrup with a sour cherry twig and lemon, and their tart flavor still comes through. I choose ripe but still firm gooseberries, so I can prick them without crushing them. Preparation: 30 minutes. Cooking: 50 minutes. Resting: 37 hours. Total time: 38 hours and 20 minutes. Servings: 20. Approximately 160 kcal and 0.5 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

1 kg ripe gooseberries
500 ml water
700 g sugar
1 sour cherry twig
juice of 1/2 medium lemon

Preparation

1. Pick the gooseberries once the dew has lifted. Wash them, remove the stems and flower remnants, then prick each fruit at both ends with a toothpick. 2. Put the gooseberries in a bowl with 500 ml of water and refrigerate for 12 hours. 3. Strain the fruit. Put the liquid in a pot with 700 g of sugar and the sour cherry twig. Boil for 20 minutes, until the syrup is bubbling and the sugar has dissolved. 4. Take the pot off the heat and leave the syrup to cool for about an hour. Add the drained gooseberries and heat until they come to a boil, in about 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, cover it with cheesecloth and leave for 12 hours. 5. Strain the fruit again. Boil the syrup for 15 minutes, until it thickens and coats the spoon. Add the juice of half a medium lemon and the gooseberries, then let them come to a boil, in about 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, cover it with cheesecloth and leave for 12 hours. 6. The next day, heat everything until it comes to a boil, in about 5 minutes. Fill washed and sterilized jars while the preserve is hot.

Notes

Choose gooseberries that are fully ripe but still have unbroken skins; very soft ones can fall apart in the pot. The size of the fruit affects how long it takes to come to a boil, with large ones heating more slowly than small ones. If they were picked after rain, they can split while cooking, so dry them well after washing. I don't shorten the overnight rests, when the fruit sits in syrup between boils. Spoon the preserve over pancakes or onto a slice of bread and butter.