Gooseberry Jam - Great For Breakfast! | Greedy Gourmet (2024)

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to make, especially for the novice jam maker
• Only 4 ingredients, and all are easy to find
• Perfect blend of tart and sweet
• Lasts for a long time, so you can have jam whenever you like!

Special Equipment Needed To Make This Recipe

• Preserving pan: this pan is used to cook the jam. If you can’t find one, a stainless-steel saucepan works just as well.
• Jam jars: jam jars or mason jars are the best containers to store the jam. Make sure to sterilise the jars before pouring the jam in.

Special Ingredients You Need For This Recipe

All of the ingredients for gooseberry jam are easy to find at home or in the grocery store.

• Gooseberries: If you can’t find fresh gooseberries, try using canned or frozen gooseberries. If using canned, give them a rinse to wash off any of the syrup.

How To Make This Recipe

Step 1: Prep the ingredients

For fresh gooseberries straight from gooseberry bushes or from farmers markets, wash and tail the gooseberries. This can take a while, which is why many prefer using frozen berries. But, use what you have on hand.

When using frozen fruit, add them to the preserving pan (or pot) on low heat for about 15 minutes. Then follow the rest of the steps below. Making jam is easier with frozen berries, because there is less prep work. But, either works in this recipe.

Step 2: Boil the mix

Add the gooseberries and water into the preserving pan. Bring it up to a boil rapidly, then lower the heat to low. The water should be at a simmer.

Let it cook for 30 minutes, or until the gooseberries are soft and cooked. Stir occasionally.

Step 3: Add in the rest of the ingredients

While stirring, pour in the granulated sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Bring the heat back up to high, and let the mix come to a rolling boil. Keep it at this heat until the setting point is reached. If you have a jam thermometer, it should reach 105C (220F).

The wrinkle test is also another way to test if the jam has reached the setting point.

To do the wrinkle test: Place a saucer in the freezer for 5 minutes, then put a dollop of jam on it and place it in the fridge. After a minute, gently push the jam with your finger. If the jam wrinkles, it’s ready.

Step 4: Sterilise jars

Wash the jam jars, then place them in a pot with boiling water (or hot water). Leave them in the hot water for about 10 minutes. Pull them out with tongs, so you do not burn your hands on the hot glass jars.Or alternatively, you can use this guide to learn how to sterilize jars in an oven or you can even sterilize your jars in a microwave.

Step 5: Jar and cool

Once the gooseberry jam has set, pour the finished jam into the jars and seal.

Let them cool completely, then label each jar. Keep the jam in a dark place until you are ready to eat it. Once you have opened the jam, place it in the refrigerator.

After you give this gooseberry jam recipe, you will love gooseberry jam as much as I do!

Top Tip: The best gooseberries for making homemade gooseberry jam are green and under ripe fruit. Under ripe gooseberries have that balance of sweet and tart that makes it such an extraordinary jam.

What to Serve with Your Homemade Gooseberry Jam

Sides

• Toast: there’s nothing gooseberry jam pairs better with than a slice of crusty buttered bread.
• Cheese: make a charcuterie board and mix savoury cheeses with this sweet jam.
• Yoghurt: start your morning off with a healthy breakfast, and top your yoghurt with this vitamin packed gooseberry jam. Similarly, add the jam onto a bowl of porridge.
• Scones: top some scones with a spread of this lovely gooseberry jam and butter! It’ll be the perfect balance of savoury and sweet.

Desserts

• Gooseberry crumble: Take this Gooseberry Crumble to the next level by adding even more gooseberries on top!
• Eggnog French Toast: A dollop of this jam will add a nice, gentle zing that contrasts the sweetness of the French toast.
• Baked Rice Pudding: Elevate a simple rice pudding with a bit of homemade gooseberry jam.

co*cktails

Gooseberries pair well with floral and citrus notes, so it’s best to blend the jam with beverages that have those flavours infused in them.

• Gooseberry Fizz: Mix the gooseberry jam with a bit of elderflower cordial and chilled sparkling wine. It will make a deliciously refreshing co*cktail for the hot summer months.
• Gooseberry Gin: This co*cktail is balanced beautifully, with sweet and sour notes. Combine some gooseberry jam with gin, elderflower liqueur, a bit of lime juice, and some simple syrup. What better way to beat the heat?

Popular Substitutions For This Recipe

Replacing Gooseberries

Use a different fruit in this recipe for a whole different delicious jam! Keep in mind that gooseberries are naturally high in pectin, so they don't need additional pectin.

If you are only replacing the fruit, try to look for one high in pectin like apples. Try this damson jam recipe for inspiration!

Sugar

Use jam sugar instead of granulated sugar. If it is your first time making gooseberry jam and you're worried about it setting, use jam sugar instead.

Gooseberries don't really need additional pectin, but the recipe won't be damaged if you use jam sugar instead.

Frozen Gooseberries

if you freeze gooseberries after picking them, use the frozen ones. Let them thaw in a pot on low heat for about 15 minutes, then continue the same steps for making jam. But if you have access to fresh gooseberries, you can definitely use them as well!

Lemon

For a weaker citrus flavour, use the juice of half a lemon instead. You can also switch out the lemon for another citrus fruit. It depends on your tastes and preferences.

For a sweeter citrus taste, use oranges instead of lemons. You’ll get the same acidity, but it won’t taste as sour.

Variations To This Recipe

Floral Notes

Add some elderflowers, or elderflower essence, to bring some floral notes into the jam. Gooseberries pair well with floral notes, so feel free to experiment with different flower essences.

Heat

Mix in a bit of grated ginger root for some extra heat. Don’t substitute fresh ginger with ground ginger powder. It won’t give the same flavour or texture that fresh ginger would.

Fruity

Gooseberries pair well with citrus fruits, so experiment with other citrus fruits like grapefruit or oranges to see what combination you like the best.

Regardless of which fruit you add into the gooseberry jam, it’s best to stick with fruits that have a bit of acidity. The contrast in taste will bring out the natural sweetness of the gooseberries.

Rhubarb

Gooseberry tastes delicious with a bit of rhubarb. It also has a tart taste that brings out the gooseberries’ sweetness.

Top Tip

Gooseberries may have different levels of juiciness, so the amount of gooseberry jam made at the end may vary.

Other Gooseberry and Jam Recipes You’ll Love

• Gooseberry Crumble: a classic English dessert filled with a delicious gooseberry sauce. Add some gooseberry jam on top for even more gooseberry goodness!
• Gooseberry Fool: a simple, quick gooseberry fool that takes lovely green gooseberries to the next level!
• Marrow Jam: having more jam recipes in your pocket is never a bad thing. Turn this summer vegetable into an incredible homemade jam.
• Blackberry Jam: a tart, refreshing jam that is only made better by the fact that it’s seedless!

Food Safety

• Sterilise and wash the jars. Place the jars in boiling or hot water for about 10 minutes to properly sterilise them.
• Wash the fruit well. Gooseberries are quite gentle, so wash them right before making the gooseberry jam.
• Use oven mitts when you are making the gooseberry jam. Hot jam can be dangerous to work with, so make sure to protect your hands.
• When storing the jars of jam, make sure to leave some room between the jam and the lids. The jam will expand in the freezer or refrigerator. Cleaning up jam in your freezer is not fun!