Saving the summer fruit: Try these classic gooseberry preserve recipes (1919)
by Margaret Hamelin – New-York Tribune (New York, NY) July 13, 1919
1. Gooseberry conserve recipe
Wash and stem five pounds of gooseberries and add four pounds of sugar, one and a half pounds of seeded raisins, and the juice and the finely-chopped rind of four oranges.
Crush the fruit just enough so that the juice will start and prevent scorching. Then turn into a preserving kettle, let stand for twenty minutes and simmer for forty-five minutes after it begins to bubble. Store like marmalade.
2. Classic gooseberry jam recipe
This may be made with the plain gooseberries and sugar or with the addition of red currant juice. For the former, stem and wash the berries, put them in a preserving kettle with just enough water to prevent burning, mash the fruit well and cook until the fruit; is softened.
Add as much heated sugar as you have fruit pulp and simmer for about twenty minutes. Skim well.
For the other method, melt six pounds of sugar in a quart of red currant juice, let boil for five minutes and add eight pounds of washed and steamed gooseberries. Cook for forty minutes, skim well and set aside until the next morning.
Skim the berries out into jelly glasses, boil down the syrup until very thick, and pour over the fruit. Cover with paraffin when cold.
MORE: How to make real old-fashioned homemade jam & jelly
3. Green gooseberry jelly
Cook the fruit in the upper part of the double boiler until the juice runs freely; then strain as in making currant jelly. Let the strained juice boil hard for ten minutes and add an equal amount of heated sugar to that of the strained berry juice. Store in jelly glasses.
A pretty pink jelly and one with a different flavor is obtained by adding one cupful of strained currant juice to every three cupsful of the gooseberry juice.
4. Gooseberry catsup recipe
Stem, wash and mash five quarts of berries, put them into a preserving kettle with six cupsful of granulated sugar, one quart of vinegar, and one ounce each of ground nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves.
Boil down the mixture until quite thick and seal in a small sterilized jar as for canned fruit. Very good with cold pork or poultry.
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5. Gooseberry preserves (Bar-le-duc)
Although slightly troublesome to make, these are quite equal to the expensive product sold as bar-le-duc.
Select large, perfect gooseberries. Make a tiny opening in the side of each one. Then with a needle, remove the seeds one by one, taking pains to preserve the shape of the fruit.
Weigh the prepared berries, allow an equal amount of strained honey, and when the latter is hot, put in the berries and simmer for four minutes.
Skim out the fruit, place in tiny jelly glasses and boil down the honey syrup until very thick. Pour this over the fruit, and seal when cold with paraffin.
6. Gooseberry marmalade recipe
Wash and stem three quarts of ripe gooseberries. Cook with as little water as possible until they burst, and add two quarts of sugar, one scant quart of ground pineapple and one pound of chopped, seeded raisins.
Boil the mixture very slowly until quite thick and add two cupsful of chopped English walnuts. Store as for jelly.
ALSO SEE: 10 old-fashioned gooseberry pie recipes
One Response
When growing up my grandmother made gooseberry cobbler. I looked forward to it every year. I am thinking of growing a plant and wanting to know if it is possible to can them like tomatoes to use in late recipes. My freezer is full with meat and other things that I grow in my garden.