Homemade gooseberry jam.

Using the gooseberries I picked at Bake Farm (click here for blog post), I decided to use part of my day off to make some gooseberry jam. I have never made any kind of preserve before, so this was very new to me. It was so much simpler than I ever imagined. I thought you'd need lots of fancy equipment, but I was wrong. Do you own an empty jar, funnel, saucepan, saucers, cooker and a wooden spoon? Yes? Well you can make this jam!

This recipe makes about 1 jar of jam. Each tablespoon of this jam is approx. 50 kcal.

Ingredients:

- 320g gooseberries, 

- 320g granulated sugar

- juice of 1/3 of a lemon

- 200ml water

Method:

1. Although this recipe fills about one jar completely, I would sterilize two, just in case. To sterilize the jars and their lids, wash them with hot, soapy water and then rinse them off with very hot water. Now place them on a tray lined with baking paper and put into a cold oven. Once in, turn the oven on to 120°c. Place two saucers in the freezer, which you'll use to test the jam later.

2.  In a medium saucepan on a high heat, put the gooseberries, water and lemon juice in and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it turns pulpy.

3. Now, on a very low heat, pour in all of the sugar and stir until it dissolves completely. Once dissolved, turn the heat up high and bring to a hard boil. Boil for about 7 minutes. The jam mixture should start to turn a reddy/pinky colour.

4. To test if the jam is ready, take out one of the chilled saucers and put a little blob of the jam mixture onto it. Leave it to cool slightly. Run your finger through it, if it wrinkles, it's ready. If it doesn't, boil the mixture for a further 3-5 minutes and test again. Keep repeating this until it's ready.

5. Take the jars out of oven and leave to cool slightly. Using the funnel, pour the jam mixture from the saucepan into the sterilized jar(s). I managed to only fill one jar perfectly to the top. Remove the funnel and screw the lid on tight and leave to cool overnight. This jam should keep for about 6 months.

Enjoy your yummy, sweet, homemade gooseberry jam spread on toast, ricecakes or crackers. :)