Gooseberry jam: basic methods for making gooseberry jam at home

How to select and prepare gooseberries

Berries for making jam can be taken from any variety of gooseberry. The color of the finished jam will ultimately depend on the original color of the raw material. The basic and important rule for choosing gooseberries: you need to take berries that are not quite ripe and firm to the touch. Such fruits contain the most natural gelling substance - pectin, which is so necessary for making thick jam. If, however, the harvest had to be harvested slightly overripe, then a store-bought product such as gelatin can come to the rescue.

Before cooking, gooseberries are thoroughly washed, removing all dirt and dark spots. Using small scissors, cut off the stalk and sepals from each berry.The process of such cleaning can take quite a lot of time, so we recommend involving household members in this matter.

Methods for preparing gooseberry jam

Method 1 – From boiled berries

Boil two kilograms of peeled gooseberries for 10 minutes in a saucepan with the addition of 1 glass of water. After this, the hot berries are ground through a fine metal sieve. Add 1.5 kilograms of granulated sugar to a homogeneous puree and mix everything thoroughly. To bring the jam to the desired consistency, simmer it over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Readiness is determined by a small amount of jam placed on a cold plate. The dessert is ready if the mass does not spread to the sides and holds its shape.

Method 2 – Gooseberry puree jam

Three kilograms of berries are placed in a meat grinder and crushed into puree. To make the mass more homogeneous, it is additionally punched with a blender. The berries are mixed with 2 kilograms of granulated sugar and boiled on a low burner until tender.

Method 3 – Jam in a slow cooker

Berries, 1 kilogram, are crushed with a blender or meat grinder until pureed. Add puree and 800 grams of sugar to the multicooker bowl. The contents of the bowl are mixed and left to simmer in the “Stew” mode. Cooking time is 45 minutes from the moment the liquid boils. Every 10 minutes the mass is stirred and the foam is removed.

Method 4 – Jam on gelatin

This method is perfect if the harvested gooseberries are slightly overripe. First of all, a 30 gram bag of gelatin is poured with 250 milliliters of cold boiled water. Gooseberries, 500 grams, are boiled with the addition of 50 milliliters of water.The softened fruits are punched with a blender or passed through a metal grid with a fine cross-section. Add 250 grams of sugar to the gooseberries, and place the container with the food on medium heat. After 20 minutes of cooking, gelatin is added to the mass, and the fire is immediately turned off. The mistake of many housewives is that after adding gelatin to the jam, they continue to keep the mixture on the fire. Gelatin cannot be boiled!

What berries and fruits can gooseberries be combined with?

The jam will turn out to have an unusual taste if you add strawberries, raspberries or blueberries to the gooseberries during the cooking process. You can also diversify the preparation with apples, plums, orange or lemon pulp. A very beautiful jam is made from green gooseberries and kiwis.

The India Ayurveda channel will tell you in detail about the recipe for making gooseberry jam with kiwi.

You can use cinnamon or ginger to flavor the jam. In this case, spices can be taken both in powder form and in whole pieces. Gooseberry jam with the addition of vanillin or vanilla sugar has a very pleasant taste.

How to properly store gooseberry jam

The sterility of the container is the key to the safety of the products for a long time. Containers for jam can be sterilized with steam over a regular saucepan, in the microwave or in the oven. If you are preparing jam in a slow cooker, you can disinfect the jars directly above the boiling jam by placing a steaming bowl on top of the main container.

The finished hot gooseberry jam is poured into dried sterile jars and covered with lids. Store the product for a year in a cool, dark place.