Gooseberry jam. With a hint of cinnamon.

Gooseberry – a case for fructophobics. Is it, really?

„What about making gooseberry jam?” This question, innocently posed, and based on the Swiss model of grassroot democracy, has sparked unexpectedly violent debates in our team. The length of the debate reminded of the well-established Swiss democratic model as well. Opinions within our group spread from “Oh yes. Tasty!” to „No, it’s awful. Absolutely not.”On closer inspection, we found clearly, that gooseberries in general are exposed to a tremendous amount of prejudices and wrong judgments, at least as long as the vehement objectors are concerned (by the way, the scientifically correct term for fruit deniers in general is “fructophobics”, in case that you always wanted to know!). So, it’s about high time to have a closer look at all these gooseberry prejudices.

Misleading names, and really many of them

Anyone who has ever picked gooseberries from the bush can confirm it. The German name „Stachelbeere“ („sting berries“) definitely is misleading. No, they do not have any stings, prickels or spines. Instead of spines, the skin only has a more or less fine fluff. Incidentally, gooseberries do have many names that differ, depending on the region. Druscheln, Heckenbeeren, Krausbeeren or Klosterbeeren. In Switzerland they are called Chruselbeeri or Chrosle, the Austrians speak of Agrasel.

Gooseberries. A very ancient fruit with a long tradition

Gooseberries are certainly among the „classics” of local orchard culture. However, oiginally, they did not come from Central Europe (although they grow here excellently), but derive from North Africa and Eurasia, even as far as China. There are around 500 varieties of gooseberries worldwide, with three basic varieties among them, from green-white to yellow and red. Most are grown in the UK, where they are extremely popular, not just among geese!

They must be very sour. Aren’t they?

By the way, gooseberries are not as sour as they are feared to be. On the contrary, the riper the gooseberries, the sweeter they taste. This is no miracle: Next to grapes, gooseberries are an unbeaten No 2 in terms of “sugar content of local fruits/berries“.
The supposedly “sourness” probably also has to do with the fact that gooseberries – depending on the degree of ripeness – can contain between 20 and 70 mg (in words: seventy!) Mg of vitamin C.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. That’s true for gooseberries as well.

At some point in life, you will ultimately face the decision: make or leave. We did it and gave the gooseberry a chance. And … it’s worth it! But try for yourself. For example, when enjoying breaksfast as a guest in our hotel. And to make you happy at home, here’s the recipe:

Here is the magic formula: 1 to 1 to 1. And for 1 kg of gooseberries, 1 kg of sugar (preserving sugar 1: 1) and (Full attention to the necessary pinch of magic!) 1 stick of cinnamon.

Clean the gooseberries, remove stem and buds, then wash and purée. You can puree to taste: we find it particularly delicious, if you stop “just before very fine”, so you still have tiny tiny fruit pieces. Bring to a boil. Then add sugar and a cinnamon stick. Boil for a while with stirring and continue cooking until a sample shows that the jam is firm. Take the cinnamon stick out of the jam, add the jam to the prepared glasses, close them and put them upside down for a few minutes. Afterwards you can cook the glasses again for 15 minutes, so that they are definitely remain good for the no-fruit season (although our stock disappears much quicker than that…). Enjoy!