Royal Emerald gooseberry jam with cherry leaf

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make royal gooseberry jam? Gather your ingredients. The gooseberries must be green and underripe — that's exactly what gives the jam its wonderful emerald color. I always use extra cherry leaves; they add a special flavor. You'll figure out the exact amount of sugar after weighing the seeded berries. Use a 1:1.5 ratio — one and a half kilograms of sugar for every kilogram of seeded berries.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the berries under running water and drain them in a colander. Using small scissors, snip off the stem and blossom ends from each gooseberry.

3. Step 3:

   

   Then make a slit in each berry and scoop out the seeds. I have a special little spoon for this — it's very small. But a safety pin works too. This is the most tedious part; once you've gotten through it, you've basically done the whole job.

4. Step 4:

   

   Be sure to weigh the seeded gooseberries — you'll base the amount of sugar on their weight.

5. Step 5:

   

   Rinse the cherry leaves well, one at a time under the tap. Put them in a colander to drain.

6. Step 6:

   

   Mix the gooseberries with the leaves and cover them with water. Use good-quality water, since its taste comes through in the jam. Let the berries soak like this for 5–6 hours.

7. Step 7:

   

   Then drain the berries and leaves in a colander set over a pot, so the liquid collects below — you'll cook the syrup from it.

8. Step 8:

   

   I took out most of the leaves, leaving just a few — they'd done their job.

9. Step 9:

   

   Stir the sugar into the water.

10. Step 10:

    

    Set the syrup over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and let it boil for a couple of minutes.

11. Step 11:

    

    Add the berries and remaining leaves to the syrup. Turn off the heat. Leave the berries like this for 2–3 hours. Cooking the jam this way — in stages, with rests in between — keeps the berries from falling apart, preserves their color, and lets them soak up the syrup evenly.

12. Step 12:

    

    After the three-hour rest, set the jam back over low heat. Bring it to a boil. If any foam rises to the surface, skim it off. Turn off the heat. Then rest it again, this time for 5–6 hours.

13. Step 13:

    

    Repeat the process — bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and let it rest for 5–6 hours.

14. Step 14:

    

    Boil the jam one last time for a couple of minutes to finish it off. But don't overdo it — the jam is easy to overcook, and it'll turn too dark.

15. Step 15:

    

    Ladle the hot jam into clean, dry jars. Close the lids. Store the royal jam somewhere cold, ideally the refrigerator. If that's not an option, you'll need to seal the jars with tin lids.