Gooseberry is rich in vitamins of group B, A, ascorbic acid, iron and other elements. Not all of them are able to withstand intensive heat treatment, which is why gooseberry jam prepared in the traditional way cannot be compared with fresh berry with its beneficial properties. Modern housewives prefer to cook gooseberry jam without cooking. Outwardly, it resembles jam, since without a heat treatment from whole fruits, it is impossible to prepare a delicacy for the winter that will not spoil for a long time. This does not make the dessert less appetizing than the famous “royal” jam. In favor of it, it surpasses the food that our grandmothers made from gooseberries.
Cooking Features
Raw gooseberry jam is even easier to prepare than the traditional one, but to obtain the expected result, you need to know a few subtleties:
- For making jam without cooking, it is better to select slightly unripe fruits. Their bones are still soft and will not spoil the taste of the dessert. In unripe berries contain more pectin, due to which jam cooked in a cold way acquires a pleasant texture that resembles jam.
- When preparing the gooseberries for cooking, it is necessary to remove the “tails” and “stigmas” from them. Make it most convenient manicure scissors.
- Prepared gooseberries should be rinsed under running water and dried. If the fruits are wet, the harvesting of them will have a more watery appearance and spoil faster. Gooseberry dries faster if sprinkled on a towel that absorbs moisture.
- You should not choose aluminum cookware for making gooseberry jam. This material, coming into contact with acids, forms harmful substances.
- Before you lay out the cold jam on the jars, you need to wait until the sugar is completely dissolved in the berry puree. For better preservation of the dessert, it can be filled with sugar after distribution to the cans. It will harden, forming the so-called “sugar stopper”, which protect the dessert from souring.
- Banks for gooseberry jam must be sterilized. Covers can be used both metal and plastic, but they must be boiled before use.
- Gooseberry jam will be better preserved if the main ingredient is added with citrus fruits.
Gooseberry jam, made without cooking, can only be stored in the refrigerator. Some housewives risk keeping it at room temperature, but in the cold dessert will not spoil for a longer time.
The classic recipe for gooseberry jam without cooking
Composition (2 liters):
- gooseberry - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1, 5 kg.
Preparation Method:
- Gather the fruits of the gooseberry, remove the “tails” from them. Wash the berries under running water. Pat dry on a towel.
- Scroll dried berries through a meat grinder. If the fruits are ripe and soft, you can use a blender to grind them.
- Mix the berry mass with sugar, leaving 100 g for sprinkling the finished delicacy to create a “sugar cork”.
- Cover the container with gooseberry gauze, leave for 5-6 hours. Periodically mix the berry mass to dissolve sugar in it faster.
- Sterilize the jars, boil the lids.
- When the sugar is completely dissolved, spread the jam over the prepared jars, top with a spoonful of sugar.
- Close the jars tightly with the prepared lids and put them in the refrigerator.
Gooseberry jam, cooked according to the classic recipe, has a harmonious taste and is well stored. Its color depends on the variety used to make gooseberry delicacy and the degree of ripeness of the fruit.
Gooseberry jam with lemon without cooking
Composition (2 liters):
- gooseberry - 1 kg;
- lemons - 2 pcs .;
- sugar - 1, 2 kg.
Preparation Method:
- Wash lemons. Cut into small pieces, remove the bones.
- Crank lemon slices through the meat grinder.
- Prepare the gooseberry by washing it and drying it.
- Grind with a meat grinder.
- Gooseberry puree mixed with lemon mass.
- Add sugar, mix.
- Leave at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Spread the dessert on sterilized jars, cork and clean in the fridge.
Thanks to the addition of lemon, gooseberry jam is better stored and gets a pleasant sourish note with a slight bitterness.
Gooseberry jam with oranges without boiling
Composition (for 2, 5-2, 75 l):
- gooseberry - 1 kg;
- oranges - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1, 5 kg.
Preparation Method:
- Pour boiling water on oranges and wash well, dry with a napkin.
- Rub the ore with the zest. Disassemble the pulp, peel off the films.
- Prepare the gooseberry: wash, dry, cut the “tails”.
- Grind the gooseberry and orange pulp with a blender or meat grinder.
- Add sugar and orange zest to the fruit and berry mass.
- For 6-8 hours (it is possible for the night), put the jam in the fridge.
- By the next day, the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Spread the dessert over sterilized jars, roll up, put in a cool place, best of all - in the fridge.
Gooseberry jam, cooked with oranges without cooking, turns out to be fragrant, has a pleasant color and is well kept.
Gooseberry jam was formerly called “royal”. Cooked in a cold way, it is not inferior to the taste of the traditional and also deserves a similar title.