The plants around us. Volum III The plant around us. Volume III. Etwining project | Page 9

Medicinal use
Gastronomic use
.
The fruit is laxative.
Stewed unripe gooseberries are
used as a spring tonic to cleanse
the system.
The leaves have been used in the
treatment of gravel.
Gooseberry jam:
First sterilise your jars by washing thoroughly in
very hot soapy water. Rinse in very hot water
then put on a baking sheet in a 140°C/fan
120°C/gas 1 oven until completely dry. Put the
gooseberries, lemon juice and 400ml water in a
large wide pan (use a preserving pan if you have
one). Bring to the boil then simmer for 15
minutes until the fruit is very soft and pulpy. Put
2 or 3 small saucers in the freezer (these will be
used to test the setting later on).
If the fruit is allowed to remain on the
plant until it is fully ripe and soft it
becomes quite sweet and is delicious for
eating out of hand.
The fruit of the wild species is often less
than 1cm in diameter, but named
An infusion taken before the monthly
periods is said to be a useful tonic for
growing girls.
The leaves contain tannin and have
been used as an astringent to treat
dysentery and wounds.
Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is often
picked when under-ripe and very firm,
it has a very tart flavour at this time and
is mainly used in making pies, jams etc.
Add the sugar and stir over a gentle heat for
another 10 minutes until the sugar is completely
dissolved. You don’t want it to boil at this point
as the sugar could crystallize. Once you can’t
feel or see any grains of sugar bring to the boil
and boil hard for 10 minutes, skimming the
surface as you go and stirring now and again to
stop it catching. The jam will start to turn a
pinky red hue as it cooks. Spoon a little jam onto
a chilled saucer, leave to cool then run your
finger through it. If it’s ready it will wrinkle up.
If this doesn’t happen boil for another 5 minutes
then keep testing and boiling until it does. Do a
final skim on the finished jam then pour into the
sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool dark place
– the jam will be good for up to 6 months. Keep
in the fridge once opened.
cultivars have considerably larger fruits
up to 3cm in diameter. Leaves- raw. The
young and tender leaves can be eaten in
salads. Some caution is advised, see the
notes above on toxicity.
Gooseberry jam