(2lb) granulated or preserving sugar (see Jam making tips)
Juice of 1 lemon
300ml
(10 fl oz (½ pint)) elderflower cordial
Directions
Step 1
Place the gooseberries in a preserving pan with 150ml (1/4 pint) water, then cook over a low heat until the gooseberries are very soft. Meanwhile, place the sugar in a large roasting tin and warm in the oven at 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 for 10min.
Step 2
Add the lemon juice, elderflower cordial and warmed sugar to the gooseberries, bring to the boil and simmer gently until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bubble for 25–30min or until the jam is set (see Jam making tips). Cool, pot, then cover and label the jars.
Jam making tips
Setting agents. Preserving sugar produces less scum, dissolves easily and produces sparkling clear jellies and jams. (Jam sugar is used for fruits with low pectin and acid level.)
Pectin makes jam set when fruit is heated with sugar. However, many summer fruits are low in natural pectin, so if your jam is not setting, add extra lemon juice – a good natural source of pectin. Alternatively, use an artificial pectin.
Setting point. When jam reaches setting point, it’s ready to pot. There are two good ways of testing this stage:
1 Spoon a little jam on to a chilled plate, then chill for 1–2min. If it crinkles when you run your finger through it, setting point has been reached. 2 Use a jam thermometer – when it reaches at least 110°C (230°F) the jam is at setting point.
Potting tips. Before use, wash jars in hot water, drain, then leave to dry in a warm oven. Boil the lids. Alternatively, a fast wash in the dishwasher is ideal.
Always pour hot jam into warm jars.
Always fill to the rim to allow for shrinkage on cooling.
Cover with waxed discs, waxed side down, and dampened Cellophane covers, dampened side up.
For longer-term storage, cover with screw-on lids too.
For best results, store jams in a cool dark place.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
