HERE COME GOOSEBERRIES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 440, 28 November 1947, Page 22

HERE COME GOOSEBERRIES

HERE was a time when it was the custom to despise the humble _ gooseberry. People said they set the teeth on edge, and that stewed gooseberries looked an _ unattractive thick, seedy pulp. People still say they don’t care for gooseberry jam. But perhaps the presentation of the gooseberry dishes may be at fault; and gooseberry jam really can be delicious. Try some of these ideas. Gooseberry and Apple Pie I learned about this in Whangarei. It was served with thick raw cream-be-fore rationing. But we can still use topmilk. It is the apple which softens and yet brings out the gooseberry flavourmuch more so than rhubarb, which is so often used with gooseberries. Make a sytup first, by boiling 14 to 1 cup sugar with 2 cups’ water for 5 minutes; then put in the topped and tailed gooseberries and the apples in chunky slices-either half and half or as you wish. Simmer till tender, but try to keep whole and plump. Let cool in saucepan before putting into pie-dish. You can slightly thicken the syrup with a little cornflour if it seems thin. Then cover with either flaky or short pastry, as desired, and ‘cook in hot oven till the pastry is done. Don’t forget to prick the raw pastry, to let the steam escape; and put a small cup, or 2 eggcups, in the dish to support the crust. I haven’t seen any pie-funnels lately in the shops, but I suppose they will come’ back sometime. Serve with plenty of custardpowder for a big family. Stir a knob of butter into the custard before taking up. Spiced Gooseberries This is best with cold meat-any kind. Top and tail about 4lb. of green gooseberries, put them into a pan with a breakfast cup of water, and boil for 15 minutes, to soften. Then add 2141b. of brown sugar and a pint of vinegar, and stir till the sugar is dissolved. Finally add a medium-sized onion finely chopped, 1 teaspoon salt, and oz. each of cinnamon, ground ginger and cloves. Simmer gently till thick and cooked, stirring almost constantly. Gooseberry Jelly This is also to serve with meat or game, like red-currant jelly, which >is not so easy to get. Put 2lb. green gooseberries into pan (need not be topped or tailed), cover barely with cold water and cook till soft and pulpy. | Strain through fine sieve, pressing hard. To each pint of liquid allow 1lb. sugar; and about half a dozen stalks of fresh green mint, tied together, before boiling up steadily until the jelly will set. Stir frequently. Remove mint and bottle and seal. : Gooseberry and Apricot Top and tail 3 quarts gooseberries. Cover ilb. dried apricots with 1 quart hot water and soak for 24 hours. Strain liquid from apricots into pan and add the gooseberries. Bring to boil, add gradually the cut-up apricots and 5lb.

sugar, stirring continually till sugar dissolves. Simmer till gooseberries are soft and then boil fast till jam sets when tested. Plain Gooseberry Jom Boil 5ib. sugar and 3 pints of water for 5 minutes or until a clear syrup, Add 3lb. gooseberries and boil till they are soft and the jam will set. It should be a fine dark red colour. A rolling boil after the gooseberries soften. Should take about 40 minutes, May be strained t6 remove skins. Gooseberry Fool This dessert is from a Scottish Women’s Institute. Boil any quantity of berries in a little water till soft, strain off the liquid; pass the fruit through a

Qe eee fine sieve. Sweeten to taste. Mix with equal quantity of good custard, or, if obtainable, thick cream, and serve Raspberries, loganberries and black cure rants may be served in the same way. Gooseberry Marmalade Three pounds green gooseberries, 2 lemons, 5 small breakfast cups of water, 6lb. sugar. Shred lemons as for marmalade. Cover with 2 cups boiling water, leave all night. Next day, boil up with the gooseberries and 3 cups cold water, for an hour. Add warmed sugar, stir till dissolved. Bring to boil, and boil hard for not more than 10 minutes. Delicious; green in colour.