Gooseberry Sauce Food

GOOSEBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Clean the gooseberries by removing their tops and tails.
• Place the cleaned gooseberries into a pot with the water and lemon juice. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until they've disintegrated (about 5 minutes).
• Add the sugar, and boil the mixture hard until it reaches gel stage, about 8-10 minutes. Test the jam on a plate in the freezer, or check to see if it sheets off a spoon. Alternately, use a food thermometer and wait until it reaches 220 degrees F.
• Pour the gooseberry jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Apply 2 part canning lids and seal finger tight.
• Either store the jars in the refrigerator for immediate use, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for a shelf stable home canned gooseberry jam that will last years at room temperature.

GOOSEBERRY DESSERT

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; cut in the butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until easy to handle., For filling, in a large bowl, combine sugar and tapioca. Gently stir in gooseberries; let stand for 15 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll out each portion to an 8-in. square. Place one portion in the bottom a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Top with filling and remaining pastry., Cut slits in pastry; brush with milk. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

GOOSEBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place a few small plates in the freezer. Put gooseberries and 1/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring halfway through, until berries are just beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in sugar, and mash berries against side of pan with the spoon. Cook, uncovered, stirring more frequently as jam thickens, until it is bubbling rapidly and the consistency of very loose jelly, about 30 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to surface. Remove from heat.
• Perform a gel test: Remove a plate from freezer, and drop a spoonful of jam on it. Return to freezer for 1 to 2 minutes, then nudge edge of jam with a finger. If jam is ready, it should hold its shape. If jam is too thin and spreads out, return to a boil, testing every minute, until done.
• Return jam to a boil before transferring to a jar. To seal and process, fill 3 hot, sterilized 4-ounce jars with hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch space in each jars neck. Wipe rims of jars with a clean, damp cloth; cover tightly with sterilized lids and screw tops. Transfer jars, using tongs or a jar clamp, to the rack of a large canning pot filled with hot water, being sure to keep jars upright at all times; cover with water by 2 inches. (Jars should be spaced 1 inch apart, and should not touch sides of pot.) Cover; bring to a boil. Process jars in gently boiling water for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 24 hours. Press down on each lid. If lid pops back, it is not sealed; refrigerate unsealed jars immediately, and use within 1 month.

GOOSEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Drain gooseberries, reserving the syrup.
• In a small saucepan combine gooseberry syrup, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, cloves (if using) & salt, cooking & stirring constantly, 4 to 5 minutes, until chickened & glossy.
• Stir in gooseberries & heat through, 1 to 2 minutes, then serve warm with meat or poultry, as a spread (great on bagels & whole wheat toast), or . . . !

GOOSEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare gooseberries by using scissors to snip each end. Rinse to remove dirt and debris.
• Transfer berries to a pot and add onion, sugar, and enough water just to cover. Cover and cook gently over medium heat until soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust level of sweetness. Remove from heat and transfer carefully to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
• Puree the mixture. Serve sauce warm or cold.

GOOSEBERRY CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Grease a 9 to 10-inch round baking dish (or similarly sized baking dish) with baking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
• To a bowl, add gooseberries, sugar, zest, juice and cornstarch, stirring to combine until there are no streaks or big clumps of cornstarch remaining. Pour into prepared baking dish. Set aside.Note: One of the great things about crumbles, is the berry syrup at the bottom of the dish after it has baked. It's delicious spooned over the crumble and ice cream. If, however, you want things more set/less juice, you can add a little more cornstarch, about another 1/2 tablespoon or so.
• To make crumble, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• Add cold butter to the crumble. Use a pastry cutter (or two knives) to cut butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbles and some buttery clumps. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sprinkle crumble topping over the gooseberry filling. Place the dish on a baking tray to catch any spills that may happen (makes for easier cleanup). Bake for 50 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown and crispy.
• Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes or so before serving. This allows the crumble to set up and cool down.
• Serve as is or with ice cream. Drizzle the gooseberry juices/syrup over top for an extra punch of flavour!

STICKY GOOSEBERRY SAUCE FOR THE SOUL

Steps:

• Put all ingredients in a small saucepan and turn hotplate onto its highest heat.
• Use a fork or potato masher to squish down on gooseberries. Keep doing this occasionally until the mixture comes to the boil. (We do not want the gooseberries to be completely pulverised, but we do want to help release their flavour, and help the skins to cook down/soften).
• When the mixture has come to the boil, turn the hotplate down by half. Continue stirring occasionally so as to prevent burning.
• Keep it on this heat for 5 minutes, before turning down by half again. Leave it on this heat for 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.
• Turn it down by half again, letting it gently simmer for an additional 10 minutes, stirring now and then to make sure it is cooking down appropriately. When the skins of the gooseberries appear translucent - similar to the appearance of the skins of glace cherries - and the liquid has reduced and appears to be sticky/coat the back of a spoon, take saucepan off the heat.
• Spoon mixture into a small, clean glass jar.
• Attach lid of jar, screwing it on tight. Carefully tip the jar upside down so the scorching hot jam creates a natural heat seal (effectively sterilizing top of jar/lid).
• Allow to cool for 20 mins, then open jar and spoon compote over dessert of your choice.
• Re-seal jar and refrigerate for future use.