EXPERIMENTAL GOOSEBERRY JAM!

I wasn't planning on making so much gooseberry jam this year but my mom offered me about 20 lbs of berries so it was very hard to resist. My parents grow several large bushes of this wonderful fruit, that I have learned to love since I was 4-5 years old. I used to eat them at my grandparents house located in a village in rural Ukraine. And when my grandparents immigrated to the USA in 1991, my grandparents brought some plants and they have been growing them for many years. Both my mom and grandmother make their jam a bit differently than I like it so I tried for myself last year and immediately knew I found that jam that I really like. In fact my mom asked for the recipe this year because she had so many berries. 

I personally grow a few bushes in our backyard but only one of them is large enough to bear fruit. But I am looking forward to many more years of gooseberry growing. 

One Sunday evening, with the kids in bed, I began sorting through the many berries. The best berries for the jam are the more red, the darker the better. It turned out that almost 10 lbs were actually green and can be eaten but not used for jam. I gave those back to my mom who makes her own berry juice in the winter. 

After sorting comes the fun part of cutting the small stem off of each berry. I used scissors because it requires larger nails if simply using the fingers. There is also the chance of tearing the top part of the berry right off. 

I took a quick break from cutting to wash and sterilize some jars for the jam. Its always a guessing game to how many jars you will need for the jam. I cook the jars and lids at 200 F for 20 minutes.

EXPERIMENT #1: Honey as substitute for sugar

We had some honey at home and I decided to trial honey for sugar but as it turns out I didn't have enough honey so it wasn't a 100% substitution. Here is what you should know about honey as a substitute! 

1. It's a great choice and its healthier.

2. 3/4 cup of honey equals 1 cup of white sugar.

3. Honey has more water content therefore decrease water in the recipe accordingly. 

In my first batch I had 75% honey and the rest white sugar. The first batch also had greener berries and therefore a bit more sour so I used 1.5 cups of honey and 1 cup of sugar.  

JAM RECIPE

5 lbs of berries (washed & stems removed)

3-4 cups of sugar (depending on ripeness) (I go by taste and add sugar accordingly)

no water needed

Gooseberries have a large water content so no additional water is needed. 

Place berries into cast iron pot on high heat until the berries are blanched and boiling. Then turn down heat to medium-high or medium to keep them simmering. 

Adding sugar or honey too soon in the cooking process just requires more attention. So cooking for the first hour works better. Then begin adding the sugar. Feel free to taste as you add the sugar to make sure it tastes good and not too sweet. Everyone has a different preference so it can be easily modified.

After the first hour of cooking there will be a noticeable drop in the amount of jam in the pot because a lot of water has evaporated. Therefore never cover the jam with a lid. It will take a long time to make jam. 

Once all of the sugar is added continue to watch the jam closely. Too much heat causes it to boil to much and that creates little explosive bubbles that easily reach the ceiling. Finding a happy medium simmer requires a little trial and error. Stirring every 5 minutes is highly recommended because its very easy to burn the jam and that permanently changes the quality of the taste.

EXPERIMENT #2: Pureed berries or not

I was making jam very late into the evening and in order to speed up the process on the second batch I decided puree/chop up the berries with a hand blender. 

As a result it took about 45 minutes less to cook but the overall taste and texture was completely different. Personally the natural overcooking and breaking apart of the berry tastes better. But then again it's a preference. 

The jam also appeared a little lighter in color when compared to the other. 

Since I bought all of the canning equipment last year, I always place the jars in a 10 minute boiling water bath to properly seal each lid and guarantee a longer shelf life. If you don't do that then you will have to place them in the refrigerator and eat them in a 3 month period. 

I was happy with the outcome of the gooseberry making process. We start digging into our canned goods after the first snow hits. In upstate NY its comes at very predictable time. We are due for a solid winter because the past couple have been on the milder side.