Gooseberry jam

Gooseberry is a fairly common berry with a hard skin and a specific taste. Prickly shrubs with shiny sweet and sour berries are a frequent visitor to gardens and gardeners-fans, and those who are not ready to devote a lot of time to the garden plot. Up to 10 kg of berries can be collected from one bush, in addition, the plant does not require too sophisticated care and special climatic conditions, and generally tolerates a cool climate well. Gooseberries were even called northern grapes in the old days.

Depending on the variety, the berries can be small (the size of a cherry), or larger, like a medium plum. Various types of gooseberries are yellow, white, red, black or green, covered with hairs or smooth, and the taste of the fruit can be similar to raspberries, plums, grapes. Green varieties of gooseberries are considered the most beneficial for the body – they contain the largest amount of vitamins and minerals.

The height of the berry season is summer. This is the time when you can enjoy it right from the bush, getting the maximum benefit and pleasure, or you can cook delicious pastries, cakes, desserts, sauces, salads and gravies with it. What to do if the summer is over and you want to remember the tart characteristic taste? Look in the pantry or refrigerator for stocks of gooseberries harvested for the winter.

Methods for harvesting berries for the winter season

The most popular options for preserving gooseberries for a long time are freezing or making compote, confiture, jam.

Any thick-skinned berries are suitable for freezing whole gooseberries – size, variety and taste do not play a role if they suit the taste. Gooseberries are sorted out, spoiled and crumpled berries with damaged skins are not suitable for freezing. Leaves, twigs and tails of berries are removed, the fruits themselves are washed and dried. After the berries are laid out in a single layer on a tray in the freezer for several hours until they freeze. Frozen gooseberries are put in a plastic bag and sent to be stored at a temperature lower than -10 degrees. Gooseberries are also frozen in the form of mashed potatoes, in sugar syrup and simply with sugar.

As for jam, confiture or jam, the main secret is to carefully sort out the berries, throwing out everything spoiled, with rot and damage, otherwise the finished product will very quickly become unusable.

Jam and other gooseberry preparations have a rich aroma and golden yellow, amber-orange, green or red-brown color – it all depends on the variety chosen. Jam is a great way to preserve the maximum benefit and taste of the berry. To be able to enjoy gooseberries at any time throughout the year, you need to stock up on a cooking container, berries, sugar, and choose the right recipe.

Gooseberry jam recipes: cooking features

Emerald gooseberry jam (also called royal or royal) is made from unripe green berries. There is a version that the royal family of the Russian Empire in the 18th century especially favored gooseberry jam, for this dish they received the “royal” title. The fruits themselves must be whole, without spots and damage, with a dense skin. For cooking take:

• 1 liter jar of berries;
• 1 liter can of sugar;
• 0,4 liters of water.

Gooseberries must be carefully sorted out and washed well, because the shelf life of the future jam depends on this. Spoiled berries, stalks in jam – a guarantee that the jar will deteriorate in a few weeks. Each berry should be shallowly pierced with a toothpick in several places. Syrup is prepared in an enamel bowl: water is poured, sugar is added and brought to a boil, after which gooseberries are poured with the mixture for 5 hours. After the syrup is poured into a saucepan, boiled again and the berries are poured over them for another 5 hours. The next time, the procedure with boiling the syrup is repeated, and after boiling, berries are added there. The dish is boiled for 15 minutes, and then it is poured hot into jars. The container is turned upside down and left to cool. Keep the jam in a cool dark place. The finished dish has a golden-green color and a rich smell. During the preparation process, it must be borne in mind that the amount of sugar may be insufficient. In this matter, it is better to focus on your own taste and periodically try the jam, and if it turns out to be too sour, add more sugar.

If you want to get a beautiful and rich green color, you should try the recipe for jam with cherry leaves. For him we need:

• 1 kg of gooseberries;
• 2-3 branches of cherry leaves;
• 2 cup of water;
• 1,5 kg of sugar.

The berries are washed and peeled from the core, making cuts on them and using a hairpin or special wire with a loop at the end. Then the berries are washed thoroughly again, like the leaves of a cherry. It is the leaves that give a special aroma and a delicate green tint to the future dish. Berries and leaves are mixed and poured with water, after which they are left for 5-6 hours. The water is poured into a separate bowl, and the gooseberries are thrown into a colander so that water can flow from it. The drained liquid is sent to the stove, sugar is added there and syrup is prepared. After the mixture boils, it is boiled for another 5 minutes over low heat.

Pour berries into boiling syrup and insist them for 3-4 hours. After this, the berries with syrup are brought to a boil, simmer on the fire for 5 minutes and cool, repeating the action 3-4 times. The procedure is lengthy and requires care so that the jam is not burnt or bitter. The hot dish is sent to sterile jars, corked and set to cool.

A more time-consuming jam recipe is with walnuts. You will need:

• 1 kg of gooseberries;
• 1,5 kg of sugar;
• walnuts – to taste.

It is advisable to choose gooseberries of the same variety and color, for example, green. It must be cleaned of ponytails and peel – this can be done with a knife. In order to rid the gooseberry of the skin, the berry is cut on the side and the pulp is squeezed out. The resulting contents are ground through a sieve – so you can remove the bones from the mixture. The mass in an enamel bowl is placed in a water bath and sugar is added. Stirring, the dish is boiled until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Pieces of peeled walnuts are stuffed with skins left over from the berries, after which the nuts are dipped in future jam. Boil the whole mixture for 5 minutes at least 3 times. After each boiling, the mixture is completely cooled. Since the dish is prepared without water, the consistency of it is quite thick. Ready jam turns out a beautiful golden hue, has a delicate caramel-nutty smell with sourness.

For those who are not ready for the procedure of boiling the product in turn during the cooking process, there are simpler options for gooseberry jam, for example, in a slow cooker or a bread machine.

Large quantities of ingredients simply cannot fit into a slow cooker, so the following proportions are used:

• 0,7 kilograms of berries;
• 0,8 kilograms of sugar;
• 600 gram of sugar.

Any multi-cooker with a “jam” or “multi-cooker” function will cope with cooking. Gooseberries are poured with cold water for half an hour to facilitate the procedure for cleaning them from dark spots, dirt and plaque. After soaking, the berries are thoroughly cleaned, the tails are cut off and cut in half.

Syrup is prepared in a slow cooker under the appropriate modes: sugar is poured with purified or boiled water, a timer is set for 5 minutes at a temperature of 160 degrees. Berries are placed in boiling syrup, and at the same temperature, the jam is put on a timer for another 25 minutes. The lid of the multicooker must not be closed, as the dish may “escape” over the edge. The foam on the jam should be periodically removed with a wooden spatula.

At the end of the cooking process, the hot jam is poured into a sterile container and left to cool in an upside down form.

The option of gooseberry jam in a bread machine is almost the same and also very simple: berries and sugar are taken in the same proportions. Gooseberries are cleaned from stones and stalks, together with sugar they are poured into a container and the “jam” or “jam” mode is turned on. At the end of cooking, the jam is packed in sterile jars and closed with lids.

There are other recipes: for those who want to get a homogeneous and dense product as a result, it is suggested to skip the berries through a meat grinder and cook it with gelatin.

There are also five-minute recipes from black or red gooseberries – in this case, with minimal heat treatment, the maximum of useful substances is preserved in the finished dish.

Fans of sweeter and more heterogeneous tastes will like recipes for gooseberry jam with orange, orange and lemon, kiwi, cherry, lemon – all these fruits go well with tart sour berries.

Also popular is the recipe for raw mashed potatoes, or the so-called “raw jam” – in it, the peeled and sorted berries are washed and dried thoroughly, since the liquid that has entered the composition will cause fermentation in the product. Next, gooseberries, along with sugar, are passed through a meat grinder and rolled into jars. A dish without cooking can be stored all winter in a cool place, and contains more vitamins than boiled jam.

The chemical composition and calorie content of jam

100 g of gooseberry jam contains 205,1 kcal. The nutritional value of the product is also 0,3 g of protein, 0,1 g of fat, 52 g of carbohydrates.

The benefits of gooseberry jam, its use in folk medicine

Tasty and nutritious, gooseberry jam can be consumed by both adults and children. These valuable berries have gathered a lot of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, organic acids, and in jam they lose them only partially. For example, during heat treatment in a slow cooker or a bread machine, the vitamin composition practically does not decrease. Of course, with prolonged cooking in a pan, the benefits in the product remain a little less.

The high content of pectin in jam positively affects the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, improves immunity, and slows down the aging process. Vitamin P is important for the full functioning of the heart and liver, and it also stimulates the functioning of brain cells.

For people suffering from hypertension, gooseberries and jam from it will help to stabilize the pressure and keep it at a normal level, which is why it is recommended in folk medicine for high blood pressure. The diuretic properties of jam make it useful for diseases of the genitourinary system, and inflammation of the bladder and kidneys. Moreover, berry jam helps fight spleen and fatigue, depression and sleep disturbances.

It makes sense to use the product not only to get rid of health problems, but also for the prevention of certain diseases, for example, cardiovascular or oncological. Anemia and atherosclerosis are an indication for the inclusion of jam from gooseberries in the diet due to its strengthening and hemostatic properties.

People who are overweight can also use gooseberry jam in small quantities, because it helps to speed up metabolism. Some skin problems, such as acne and inflammation, are reduced due to the magical properties of gooseberries.

The mild laxative effect of jam allows the intestines to normalize. And to combat the deficiency of iron, phosphorus, copper in the body, even doctors recommend the product.

The ability to remove salts of heavy metals and reduce the harm caused to the body by radiation makes gooseberry jam a particularly valuable product.

Use in cooking – secrets of housewives

From jam, which has a unique taste, you can make berry drinks by diluting it with water, or add it to cocktails. For example, the Pir-beer cocktail, despite the name, has nothing to do with beer. It contains gooseberry jam, pear schnapps, pears, lemon juice, lemon to taste and club soda.

In confectionery, jam is added as a filling to pies and tarts, and if you mix gelatin with it, you can cover the top layer of the cake with the resulting dessert. Confectioners advise soaking biscuit cakes with jam – they become more fragrant and “moist”. Various desserts and soufflés will benefit from the addition of gooseberry jam. As an independent dessert, it diversifies evening tea parties.

The product is very successfully combined with hard cheeses – such an appetizer diversifies the festive table. Jam will add notes of acidity and piquancy even to fish and meat sauces.

Harm and contraindications to the use of gooseberry jam

Despite the significant benefits of the dish for almost all organs in the human body, there are some nuances and limitations that must be remembered when preparing jars of jam for the winter.

Gastrointestinal tract diseases such as ulcers, gastritis, colitis and enterocolitis are serious reasons to exclude the product from the diet completely, even if remission is necessary.

Despite the benefits to the kidneys and the genitourinary system, disturbances in the functioning of these organs suggest the use of jam only in small quantities.

Individual intolerance or allergy reactions taboo gooseberries and jam from these berries.

Due to the high sugar content, caution should be taken in preserves for diabetics and people suffering from obesity.

It is better not to combine the product with plums, curdled milk and yogurts – this can cause diarrhea.

Cases of pesticide poisoning are also known, which are often treated with gooseberry bushes to control powdery mildew. Before preparing jam from berries, it is better to try them raw after thorough washing, so that later you do not have to throw out all the prepared jars.

Gooseberries are an undeservedly underestimated berry, the jam from which rarely appears on the tables. Even if the taste of fresh fruits seems too specific or uninteresting, it is worth trying to make jam from them – the result will definitely inspire you to get to know this plant more closely and will not leave anyone in the household indifferent. The appearance of the fruit may be unsightly, but after cooking, they are able to transform into a real treasure of gold, emerald or ruby ​​color.

Each housewife will choose a recipe for themselves, especially since you can add original ingredients to it, for example, mint, nuts, honey, cherry or its leaves, lemons, oranges, and get a unique new taste. Jam is prepared in the traditional way on the stove, and for the lazy there is an option with a slow cooker or a bread machine.

The benefits of the product are simply unique – for the treatment and prevention of many diseases, traditional medicine and doctors advise including it in the diet. With its help, you can forget about beriberi, disorders in the intestines, cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, gallbladder, and also cleanse the body of toxins, salts of heavy metals. And if a few centuries ago the dish was an exquisite delicacy exclusively for noble people, today it is more accessible – it will not be difficult to buy or pick berries, and the cooking process is not much more complicated than that of the usual borscht. Therefore, it is simply necessary to leave some free space in the pantry for several jars of wonderful gooseberry jam.