Gooseberry Jam with Elderflower
I know, it sounds a bit unusual, at least for the area I come from, but if you like sweet-tart jam you have to try it. The elderflower aroma pairs beautifully with the tartness of gooseberries, it's a new combination for me too, but fortunately it turned out excellent. Especially since in the first 15 minutes I had doubts about the result, the cooked gooseberries looked terrible, but the jam's appearance improved after adding the sugar.
This jam is made only with unripe gooseberries.
Ingredients
1.2 kg slightly unripe gooseberries
7 large elderflower heads
1 kg sugar
2 vanilla extracts (or 1 tablespoon homemade vanilla)
1 teaspoon butter
Yield: 5 jars of 300ml
How to prepare gooseberry jam with elderflower
- Put a few small plates in the freezer.
- Trim the gooseberries at both ends, using a knife is the easiest way. Wash them well in several changes of water. Cut as much as you can from the elderflower stems and tie them well in a piece of cheesecloth.
- Grease the bottom of a large pot with butter, add the gooseberries and place the elderflower bundle in the middle. Pour 200 ml cold water over them. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the gooseberries are very soft. With a potato masher, crush any gooseberries that remained whole. Stir occasionally.
* I use a cast iron wok for jams, it's spacious and there's no risk of sticking to the bottom - Pour the sugar over, mix well and continue to cook for another 15 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir occasionally. Remove the cheesecloth with elderflowers, squeeze it well and discard.
- Turn the heat to maximum and cook for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Protect the hand you're stirring with because the jam splatters quite a bit and you can get burned.
- Put a teaspoon of jam on a plate from the freezer, leave it in the freezer for 1 minute to cool and then test the consistency. If the jam hasn't set (it's soft when you touch it and runs on the plate) cook for another 5 minutes on high heat. Do the plate test again and if it's not ready, repeat the 5-minute cooking. Do this until the jam reaches the desired consistency.
* I did this twice, so I cooked an extra 10 minutes - Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.
- Wash 5 jars of 300ml, dry them and put them in the oven preheated to 200°C for about 20 minutes to sterilize.
- Put the jam in the sterilized jars, wipe the jar rim if it got dirty, put on the lids and tighten them well. Turn the jars upside down and leave them like that for 10 minutes to create a vacuum. Put the still hot jars under a blanket and let them cool like that overnight. Store in a cool place, in the cellar or pantry.
Gooseberries cooking with elderflowers
After 15 minutes, gooseberries are soft
Adding the sugar
The jam is ready
