Gooseberry jam

Gooseberry jam

Use up a seasonal glut of fruit in a tasty homemade preserve - store it for months or present it as a gift in a rustic hamper

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5 stars 7 ratings 5

Recipe by Good Food

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

MAKES 3 x 340g jars

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Method

  1. First sterilise your jars by washing thoroughly in very hot soapy water. Rinse in very hot water then put on a baking sheet in a 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 oven until completely dry.
  2. Put the gooseberries, lemon juice and 400ml water in a large wide pan (use a preserving pan if you have one). Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes until the fruit is very soft and pulpy. Put 2 or 3 small saucers in the freezer (these will be used to test the setting later on).
  3. Add the sugar and stir over a gentle heat for another 10 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. You don't want it to boil at this point as the sugar could crystallize. Once you can't feel or see any grains of sugar bring to the boil and boil hard for 10 minutes, skimming the surface as you go and stirring now and again to stop it catching. The jam will start to turn a pinky red hue as it cooks.
  4. Spoon a little jam onto a chilled saucer, leave to cool then run your finger through it. If it's ready it will wrinkle up. If this doesn't happen boil for another 5 minutes then keep testing and boiling until it does.
  5. Do a final skim on the finished jam then pour into the sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool dark place - the jam will be good for up to 6 months. Keep in the fridge once opened.
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OUR DOWNLOADABLE LABELS

Download our printable preserves labels - perfect for writing cook's notes and gift messages. You can find them here.

THE RIGHT SUGAR

Gooseberries are naturally high in pectin so you don't need to use specialist jam sugar for this.

PER TBSP

46 kcalories, protein 0.1g, carbohydrate 11.0g, fat 0.0 g, saturated fat 0.0g, fibre 0.4g, sugar 11.0g, salt 0.0 g

Recipe from bbcgoodfood.com, June 2012.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Lingdada

    01 July 2012

    Lingdada commented on this recipe

    After the usual jam flavours,Gooseberry (and superb tasting ginger!) tantalise the tastebuds!!

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  • Binder photo Nicola

    04 July 2012

    Nicola rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this jam over the weekend, it was easy, I added a good splash of Elderflower Cordial to give an extra 'zing'. I had just over a kilo of gooseberrys and it made 4 1/2 456g jars. It is slightly on the sweet side for my taste buds - maybe its the added cordial, but the rest of the family think its delicious, so 4 jars will be saved for Xmas gifts!

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  • Binder photo Hoolijet

    04 July 2012

    Hoolijet commented on this recipe

    Absolutely gorgeous!!

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  • Binder photo Hoolijet

    04 July 2012

    Hoolijet rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to rate!

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  • Binder photo barbara1

    12 July 2012

    barbara1 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this jam as I had a glut of large gooseberries from the allotment. Easy to make and once the sugar had dispersed I boiled it for about 20 minutes gently stirring now and then and at the wrinkle stage I added a knob of butter to disperse the foam (scum). It made about 5 smallish jars and tastes gorgeous

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  • Binder photo Courtier

    17 July 2012

    Courtier rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This jam is delicious and, even as a jam-making novice, I found it very easy to make. I will be making more of this in future!

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  • Binder photo tetttigger

    21 July 2012

    tetttigger rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just made this jam with red gooseberries from the garden - fantastic!!! I used ripe and unripe gooseberries, which I think kept the jam from being too sweet. Now on to rhubarb jam and then blackberry jam.....

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  • Binder photo Elaine

    31 July 2012

    Elaine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Beautiful jam and so full of flavour. Loved it!!! And so did my friends!

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  • Binder photo mambo_octet

    01 August 2012

    mambo_octet rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe! Easy to make. I'm very much enjoying this jam on my toast in the morning.

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  • Binder photo nirsha

    09 February 2013

    nirsha commented on this recipe

    very easy and lovely recipe, I made mine mixed with plums as I didnt have enough gooseberries. Mine is a little tart as I put lime juice instead of lemon. thank you!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

MAKES 3 x 340g jars

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Ingredients

Print this recipe
Add to your binder

PER TBSP

46 kcalories, protein 0.1g, carbohydrate 11.0g, fat 0.0 g, saturated fat 0.0g, fibre 0.4g, sugar 11.0g, salt 0.0 g

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