Gooseberry Gems Recipes

GOOSEBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place a few small plates in the freezer. Put gooseberries and 1/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring halfway through, until berries are just beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in sugar, and mash berries against side of pan with the spoon. Cook, uncovered, stirring more frequently as jam thickens, until it is bubbling rapidly and the consistency of very loose jelly, about 30 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to surface. Remove from heat.
• Perform a gel test: Remove a plate from freezer, and drop a spoonful of jam on it. Return to freezer for 1 to 2 minutes, then nudge edge of jam with a finger. If jam is ready, it should hold its shape. If jam is too thin and spreads out, return to a boil, testing every minute, until done.
• Return jam to a boil before transferring to a jar. To seal and process, fill 3 hot, sterilized 4-ounce jars with hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch space in each jars neck. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth; cover tightly with sterilized lids and screw tops. Transfer jars, using tongs or a jar clamp, to the rack of a large canning pot filled with hot water, being sure to keep jars upright at all times; cover with water by 2 inches. (Jars should be spaced 1 inch apart, and should not touch sides of pot.) Cover; bring to a boil. Process jars in gently boiling water for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 24 hours. Press down on each lid. If lid pops back, it is not sealed; refrigerate unsealed jars immediately, and use within 1 month.

GOOSEBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place the gooseberries in a large pot with the water and lemon juice. Bring it to a boil, reduce to medium-high heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gooseberries are softened. Stir in the sugar, return to a boil, and stir until dissolved. Mash the gooseberries to further break them up. Continue to boil for 25-35 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches gel stage. This can be determined by using a thermometer (when it reaches 220 F the jam is done) or performing a gel test (see below).To perform a gel test: Place a plate in the freezer (put it in the freezer ahead of time while the jam is boiling). Remove it from the freezer, drop a spoonful of hot jam onto it, and return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. Remove the plate and use your finger to nudge the jam. If the jam wrinkles it is done. If it doesn't, return the plate to the freezer, continue boiling the jam, and test it again every few minutes.
• Ladle the hot jam into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch space from the top. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth. Close the jar and let cool completely before placing the jars in the fridge where the jam will keep for at least a month. Canning for long-term storage: Ladle the hot jam into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch space from the top. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth. Place the lids on the jars and screw shut. Process the jars in a water canner for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Transfer to a cool, dark place where the jam will keep for up to a year. This yields approximately 3 half-pint jars of jam.

GOOSEBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Remove blossom and stem ends from gooseberries. Force berries through food mill. Measure 4 cups of the berry mash into a large pot. Stir in the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in pectin at once. Skim off any foam with a large metal spoon.
• Sterilize jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Take turns with skimming foam, and stirring the berry mixture for 5 minutes to let it cool slightly. Ladle into hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

GOOSEBERRY GEMS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put 12 muffin cases into a muffin tray. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, yogurt, elderflower cordial and melted butter together with a pinch of salt, then stir into the dry ingredients. Spoon into the cases (they will be quite full), bake for 18-20 mins until risen and golden, then cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, put the gooseberries and the sugar into a frying pan, then gently cook for 10 mins until most of the berries have collapsed, but there's still some texture. Taste for sweetness (add more sugar if you like, but remember that the cakes are sweet), then stir in the elderflower cordial and allow to cool. Once cool, fold into the crème fraîche.
• To serve, cut a section out of the top of each cake using a small, serrated knife - heart shapes look sweet, but if that's too fiddly simply cut off the top and cut in half, like a butterfly cake. Spoon a dessertspoonful or so of the fool into each cake, top with the piece that you cut away, then dust with a little icing sugar.

23 BEST WAYS TO USE GOOSEBERRIES

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BLUEBERRY GEMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture, set aside.
• In a separate bowl, stir together egg whites, orange juice, oil and vanilla. Add egg white mixture all at once to the flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool slightly before removing from pans. Serve warm with butter.