Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam
For this Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam use pale green gooseberries and fragrant Elderflower heads – this make a perfect, aromatic, and intensely flavoured jam which turns a pink colour during cooking.
Gooseberry & Elderflower Jam Recipe
Makes about 2kg of jam to pot. The time taken to reach setting point will vary depending on the ripeness of the gooseberries. The riper the fruit, the longer the jam will need to be cooked to reach the setting point.
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1.3 Kg firm gooseberries (topped and tailed)
- 300ml water
- 1.3 Kg granulated sugar (warmed)
- 1 lemon (juice only)
- 2 large handfuls of Elderflower heads (shaken and removed from their stalks)
Recipe Method:
Top and tail the gooseberries and remove all the tough stalks from the Elderflower heads.
Put the picked over gooseberries into a large preserving pan, add the water and bring up to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the fruit is soft. Using a potato masher, gently mash the fruit to crush it lightly.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, and prepared elderflowers to the pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring back up to the boil for 10 minutes, or to the setting point (105°C/220°F). Remove from the heat, skim off any scum and impurities rising to the surface and cool for 5 minutes, then stir. Pot and seal, then leave to cool before labelling.