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Making gooseberry jam

12 August 2012 By Charlotte Pike 8 Comments

I am on a mission to learn to make good jam. My first attempt a couple of years ago was blackberry jam using locally foraged berries, but unfortunately, I had not mastered testing for the setting point, and consequently, the jam was described by my cousin Louise, as “a bit chewy”. Oh well. Onwards and upwards.

My more recent attempts at jam making have been more successful, and, when I recently managed to get my hands on 3kg of fresh, local gooseberries whilst up in Oxfordshire the other weekend, I really wanted to get making some gooseberry jam.

We found this jam incredibly simple to make and produced excellent results. Tony and I made it together and it was a good choice to make with a novice jam maker. The worst part of it was topping and tailing 3kg of gooseberries – roughly 3 colanders full of the blighters to work through.

The flavour of the finished jam is just wonderful. The gooseberry lends itself very well to jam as its flavour is distinctive and zesty enough to stand up to all that sugar. The jam turns a beautiful pink hue towards the very end of the cooking time, which is very attractive. I urge you to give it a go. This recipe produces a lightly set jam, which also retains some nice chunks of fruit.

Makes around 10-16 jars (depending on size)

Ingredients:

3kg gooseberries

3kg granulated sugar

Method:

1)    Wash, top and tail the gooseberries, discarding any that are damaged. Place a saucer into the freezer.

2)    Put the gooseberries and 450ml water into a large pan or preserving pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes

3)    Stir in the sugar and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.

4)    Now, turn up the heat and boil for 10-12 minutes before testing to see if set.

5)    Once the jam is ready, turn off the heat, skim off the scum and spoon the jam into clean sterilised jars and seal tightly with screw top lids while the jam is hot.

Filed Under: Baking, Recipes Tagged With: homemade gooseberry jam recipe, making homemade jam, what to do with gooseberries

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jude A Trifle Rushed says

    13 August 2012 at 9:24 pm

    I know exactly what you mean about preparing fruit, I’ve just made my second(13 jar) batch of Apricot jam. But it is worth it, wondeful to have delectable summery tastes preserved for the winter.
    Your gooseberry jam looks lovely, and beautifully set, well done. J x

    Reply
    • Charlotte Pike says

      14 August 2012 at 2:59 pm

      It is a bit if a job isn’t it! But well worth it. I bet your apricot jam is amazing Jude. I think of apricots as just so french!

      Reply
  2. The Food Sage says

    15 August 2012 at 4:28 am

    The complexity of jam making has got the better of me in the past – particularly getting the setting point right. I made one good batch, followed by one ‘chewy’ and haven’t been game to try since. Your recipe sounds lovely. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Pike says

      15 August 2012 at 11:52 am

      I’m glad it’s not just me! I would recommend giving this a go! Thanks for stopping by : )

      Reply
  3. Jayne says

    22 August 2012 at 9:55 pm

    Lovely looking jam, so pretty! I made gooseberry jam once but found the preparing of the gooseberries so time consuming! As patience isn’t my strong point I now make gooseberry jelly- you don’t have to top and tail!

    Reply
  4. Carol says

    4 July 2015 at 9:05 pm

    Hi, can u tell me, for every pound of gooseberrys how much water do u need to add

    Reply
    • Charlotte Pike says

      7 July 2015 at 8:24 am

      Hi Carol – the recipe uses 450ml for 3kg of gooseberries, which is just over 6 lb. Many thanks, Charlotte

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A day of seasonal jam making with Vivien Lloyd | 'Free from' kitchen says:
    18 September 2012 at 5:27 pm

    […] recall how unsuccessful my last attempt at jam making was. If you missed it, you can read about it here. My last attempt at jam making however, was my gooseberry jam, which was really rather good. I have […]

    Reply

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About Charlotte

Charlotte Pike, award-winning cookbook author, cookery teacher and chef.

Author of five bestselling cookery books, leading independent cookery teacher and private chef, running Charlotte's Kitchen catering company. Charlotte is also the current Chair of the Guild of Food Writers.

Charlotte is known for her recipes that really work, and as a professionally trained chef who writes about food.

Charlotte lives in the English countryside and is passionate about great home cooking using the best seasonal ingredients.

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