Gooseberry & Elderflower Curd

40 minutes plus cooling time

3/4 jars

Gooseberries are like fairies, you hear about them but rarely get to see them! the Gooseberry season is quiet short, but I was lucky to have a friend with a surplus of gooseberries this year. I have vivid memories of my mum making jars upon jars of gooseberry jam when we were kids but unfortunately it resembled wallpaper paste. Gooseberries have a very high pectin content and don't require the addition of lemon or jam sugar to make it set. the ratio of sugar to fruit is also less than other fruit jams. I think my memories of gooseberry jam has put me off making it, so therefore i opted to make something a little different and here it is- Gooseberry curd! I always find the foods that grow together, go together, therefore the addition of Elderflower to the Gooseberry curd is a perfect match! Enjoy! :-)

Method

Ingredients

Remove the tops and tails from the gooseberries. Rinse and drain.

Place the gooseberries, elderflower cordial (or lemon juice) and sugar in a medium size saucepan and bring to the boil, allow to simmer until the gooseberries have burst (15 minutes). Allow to cool for 30 minutes. Place the mix into a blender and liquidise well. Pour through a sieve into a clean saucepan. Whisk up the eggs really well in a small bowl. Pour the eggs into the gooseberry mix and whisk again for a few seconds. Add in the butter. Place the pot on a low heat and slowly warm the mix until the butter disappears, and the curd starts to thicken. When the mix has started to thicken, immediately take off the heat and pour directly into warm sterilized jars (see notes). Place a jam disc on top of the curd and place a tightly fitted lid on top, allow to cool and refrigerate. Use within 4 weeks.

This curd is perfect on toast, as a filling for cakes and makes a delicious Gooseberry sabayon dessert! Enjoy 😊

NOTES

To sterilize the jars, remove all labels and give them a good wash using soapy water, rinse the jars and place them along with the lids in a large saucepan with warm water ensuring that they are well covered with water. Bring them to the boil and boil for 15 minutes. Use tongs to remove the jars and immediately pour the curd into the hot pots. Never add jam or curd into cold jars as the jars will crack!

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