Gooseberry & Apple Jam is a delightful preserve with a beautifully delicate flavour. No pectin is needed, just gooseberries, apples, sugar and water. It makes 5 to 6 jars, so there’s enough to share!
Today I’m sharing my Gooseberry & Apple Jam!
It’s been an exciting old time lately, first I was shortlisted in the MAD Blog Awards for Best Food Blog.
Then last week I was featured in The Sun (a secret ambition), which came as a huge shock as I just expected a few of my tips to be used in an article!
I’ve popped it at the bottom of this post if you’re interested!
Anyway, enough about frippery, let’s get onto the important stuff, my latest jam creation, Gooseberry & Apple Jam!
A couple of weeks ago, my dad dropped round a large carrier bag of gooseberries that he’d been invited to pick in a local allotment after a chance encounter!
Last year, he got me Mirabelle Plums from a new neighbour, so I just want to say “keep up the good work, Dad”!
I must say, gooseberries remind me so much of my childhood, as we often had them in desserts, but I don’t think I ever really appreciated them at the time.
It’s only in recent years that I’ve missed seeing them, as they seem to have completely fallen out of fashion in the supermarkets.
Hence, I hadn’t eaten a gooseberry since I was a child and had never cooked one either!
So when a glut of fruit comes to my door, my first thought is always jam, after all, I am “The Crazy Jam Lady” according to my daughter!
I thought a straightforward gooseberry jam recipe would be nice, but then there would be umpteen recipes for that, so I shelved that idea.
I then racked my brain for what would go well with gooseberries (which, from memory, had quite a delicate flavour) and the obvious answer was apple.
I love adding apples to jams as it gives them such a delicate note.
I enlisted the help of my daughter (yes, there was probably some bribery of going to get her favourite magazine), and she topped and tailed all the gooseberries for me.
I started her off with some small scissors, which worked well on the green spike, but for the bearded tufts, it was easier to pinch them out. In future, I think tweezers would be a good option.
Next, we took it in turns stirring the jam, and I gave my daughter the honour of doing the plate test, which worked first time. After putting her finger through the jam, she proceeded to lick the plate clean and declared the jam was delicious.
She then proceeded to say that she would be having it for breakfast the next morning, high praise indeed!
We then took it in turns to ladle the hot jam into the jars and then had to wait to try my new Gooseberry & Apple jam the following day. I was really pleased with the outcome.
The gooseberries and apples are a perfect match in this delicate pink jam (being a newbie, I was amazed how a pan of green gooseberries turned pink when the sugar was added).
The jam was so good I was torn as to which jam to enter into the local Parish Show, which is this weekend.
I had planned to enter my Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam! I’ll keep you guessing for now!
I have entered the last 2 Parish shows with my Peach & Apricot Jam, and last year my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam and won 1st prize both times, so I think it will be a very tall order to win a third time, but I’ll keep you posted!
How long will Gooseberry & Apple Jam keep for?
This jam will keep for years in a cool, dark, dry place, but is at its best in the first year.
Where should you store jam once open?
Once open, keep your jam in the fridge and use a clean spoon to serve to avoid contamination.
More Gooseberry Recipes
For more gooseberry inspiration, check out the following recipes:
- Gooseberry, Apple & Mint Jelly
- Gooseberry Frangipane Tart
- Vegan Gin & Gooseberry Jelly
- Red Gooseberry Cakes
- Gooseberry Cobbler
I’m sure you’ll love this Gooseberry & Apple Jam, so do leave a comment below when you make it.
Pin Gooseberry & Apple Jam for later!
Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Gooseberry & Apple Jam
Ingredients
- 1 Kg firm gooseberries trimmed
- 500 g Bramley cooking apples, cored, peeled & chopped into roughly 1.5cm pieces
- 1.5 Kg Granulated sugar
- 500 ml Water
Instructions
- Start by placing 2 saucers in the freezer (for testing).
- Put the water into a large preserving sized pan and add the apples as you prepare them (to prevent browning).
- Bring pan to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the gooseberries and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the skins are soft.
- On a low heat (not simmering), add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Bring to the boil and time for 15 minutes.
- Place a few drops of jam onto saucer and pop in the fridge for 30 seconds.
- Run a finger through the mixture and if it forms a crinkle and is jelly like it’s ready.
- If the jam isn’t ready carry on boiling for 2 minutes at a time a re-do the test until it is.
- Remove any scum with a spoon.
- Ladle into hot jar sterilised jars and cover with lids immediately.
- Makes about 5 – 6 large jars.
Christine
Do you have any recipes for Cape gooseberry jam? Also can I substitute damsons for your plum recipes?
Thanks
Camilla
Hi Christine, I’m afraid I’ll never do a Cape Gooseberry jam as they are not grown in the UK and therefore very expensive. I’m a bit confused about your Damson question, you do know I have a Damson Jam recipe?
Elizabeth Williams
I’m still looking for the bird scarer!
Camilla
It was in the links to Instagram and Tiktok in the newsletter. I tied cut up pieces of foil tray to my blueberry bush but it didn’t work. I’ve bought netting now.
Kristina
Delicious and surprising! I had a100 grams of gooseberries and two apples that had seen better days and no ideas. I flipped the fruit ratios and made a third of the recipe (way less sugar). The result was more like a bright applesauce which works for me. Thanks for the inspiration!
Camilla
Excellent, so glad to have inspired you:-)
Sue Saunders
Just made this with different quantities as I bought some bargain gooseberries from a farmstore. Added grated orange peel and cooked the apples down in orange juice and water. Bit worried I wouldn’t get a set as the gooseberries were so ripe but it worked fine – the apples would have helped a lot. Tastes delicious.
Camilla
Excellent, I saw your pic on instagram, great to make the recipe your own:-)
Amy Fidler
What delicious looking jam x
Camilla
Thank you Amy, must dig out another jar:-)
Deborah
great post I no longer read The Sun newspaper
at work
Camilla
Thanks:-)
Cherie De Coto
Thank you. I would like to know where I can get gooseberries at.Can you please let me know where. From Belvidere,Ill. Is there a farm near by. I will wait for you anwiser
Camilla
I think Google would probably be your best bet!
Cherie De Coto
Thank you for giving me the recipe. Sign Cherie De Coto
Cherie De Coto
I love gooseberry. I have not had it in avery long time.
Cherie De Coto
I have not had Gooseberry in a very long time it’s very good.
Alison MacDonald
This looks really yummy gooseberries are so underrated nowadays 🙂
Camilla
I know and I’ve only just appreciated them after many decades!
Helen @Fuss Free Flavours
I love gooseberries and that jam is such an amazingly pretty colour!
Camilla
Thanks Helen, it did go a lovely pastel shade of pink:)
Maria Hackett
ive never been a big fan of gooseberries, but this looks simply delicious. xx
Camilla
Me neither but since trying them for the first time since childhood I love them now!
Maya Russell
All our gooseberries are ripe and frozen – ready to make this recipe. I notice you use unripe gooseberries but most of ours are quite sharp anyway.
Camilla
As long as they’re not soft and squishy they’ll be fine:-)
Steven Bufton
I love gooseberries and this recipe looks tasty, I will have to give it a try 🙂
Camilla
Great Steven, let me know what you think:-)
Ursula Hunt
This is an unusual flavour combination but I bet it is tasty
Johlene@FlavoursandFrosting
Love the two flavors together! Super cute labels too!! 🙂
Camilla
Thanks, the jars and decor are all from Kilner:-)
Manila Spoon
This gooseberry jam looks delicious and would be a favorite spread of my kids for breakfast!
Camilla
Thanks, it is really good:-)
clare
Great recipe and bloomin’ well done on your recent achievements. Much deserved.
Camilla
Thank you so much Clare, very kind:-)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Congrats on being featured in the sun Madam. You deserve it.
Camilla
Aah, thank you Bintu:-)
sarah
I haven’t had gooseberries in years! Love the colour of the jam! Good luck at the parish show! I hope you win with whichever one you pick (this one! this one!). 😉
Camilla
Thanks Sarah. I was out bargain hunting in Tesco last night and a fellow shopper insisted I had her gooseberries when I said she could make my jam with them, so looks like I’ll be eating them again very soon:-)
Sarah James
Your jam looks delicious Camilla, another one for me to try. Congrats on your feature, very exciting 🙂
Camilla
Aah, thank you Sarah on both counts:-) It was rather a shock LOL!
Galina V
Excellent jam! I love gooseberries. Pinned for future reference. Big well done on being featured!
Camilla
Thank you so much Galina:-)
Elizabeth
What a gorgeous jam! Yes, I could quite happily sit and scoff this, and congratulations about your newspaper feature! How exciting! 😀
Camilla
Thank you Elizabeth, lots of jam and excitement lately:-)
Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner?
Wow, I haven’t seen a gooseberry since I was a teen. This jam sounds fantastic!
Camilla
Thanks Cindy, much like me:-)
Munchies and Munchkins
I haven’t had gooseberries in years and you are definitely inspiring me to start making jam again. Especially as my new breadmaker also makes jam! X
Camilla
Fab, you just can’t beat homemade for freshness and all the many flavour combinations you can make:-)
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs
My parents have a HUGE gooseberry bush in their garden and as a result they are always looking for gooseberry recipes. We usually have a lot of gooseberry fool when they are in season why had I never thought to make jam before?! Great recipe 🙂
Camilla
LOL Emma, you must get jam making. It’s like me, my parents had a Damson tree in their garden since I was 9 and it was only in last couple of years when I started making jam that I took note of it and that jam became one of my most popular post!
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
I’ve never even tried a gooseberry before! This does look delicious though and I like the idea of homemade jam.
Camilla
Thanks Jemma, well gooseberries just aren’t in fashion like they were when I was growing up so I don’t blame you for not having tried one!
Jen
It’s so exciting that you were in the Sun, well done! Like you I used to eat gooseberries when I was younger because parents and grandparents enjoyed them for pudding but didn’t really like them myself. I was converted a few years ago by Mum’s gooseberry and elderflower jam, I bet it works really well with apple too to offset the sharpness.
Camilla
Thanks Jen! Yes it’s strange isn’t it, now if I see a gooseberry in a supermarket it’s so rare I just get a huge wave of nostalgia come over me even though I never rated them as a kid! I didn’t like spinach back then either!
William Gould
Already got 2.5lbs of gooseberries from our 3 bushes, topped, tailed and frozen. This might be a good way of using them in the Autumn when the apples are ready!
Camilla
Ooh lucky you William – yes perfect solution:-)
Ursula Hunt
Congratulations on your Sun feature, well done!
Camilla
Thank you Ursula:-)
Peter Delicious
Such a gorgeous colour! Jam is really the best use for gooseberries. I make it every year.
Camilla
Thanks Peter, I have a new found love of gooseberries:-)
Helen @ family-friends-food.com
That jam looks lovely! I’m a big fan of gooseberries and this looks a great way to enjoy them when their (ever-so-short) season comes to an end. Yum!
Camilla
Thanks Helen:-)
Lucy @ BakingQueen74
Mmm, I love the flavour of gooseberries and I bet gooseberry and apple jam is lovely! Thanks for linking to my tart.
Camilla
Thanks Lucy – a pleasure:-)
Kavey
Lovely looking jam, Camilla. We have gooseberries on the allotment, both red and green varieties though it’s a battle against the birds getting them first!
Camilla
Thanks Kavey, yes I imagine that must be a struggle!
Choclette
Good to hear you and your blog are going places Camilla, all sounds very exciting. As does your jam. Love gooseberry jam, it’s one of my favourites and nice and easy to make too. I’ve never had it with apple before though, so I’m wondering what that might taste like. Thanks for linking to my gooseberry cakes 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Choclette. I am now wondering what gooseberry jam tastes like without the apple LOL:-)
Jennifer Ennis
My step-grandmother used to make a delicious gooseberry and redcurrant jam. I’ve inherited her preserving pan but not, alas, her talent or her recipes; my effort to reproduce the recipe just haven’t quite worked. My memory tells me the jam had quite a sharp flavour ( I don’t like things too sweet). If you get the chance, could you possibly see if you can devise recipe that works? Many thanks, Jenny
Camilla
I make jam with whatever fruit comes my way so doubt I’ll be getting any more gooseberries this year but I’ll bear it in mind for the future. Tonight I made Raspberry & Blackcurrant Jam with my 5p bargain fruit finds in Tesco:-)