February 16, 2009

CAPE GOOSEBERRY JAM- EASY EXOTICA

My grandmother was very fond of gooseberry jam and would make it often, today when I made it, I was transported back in time by the aroma.I get that with some foods especially sweets...

"In Love with Food" as readers can see, has gotten a complete makeover, dot on Valentine's day, all thanks to Ashish of technospot.net. Hope you all like it as much as I do!

Cape gooseberries (also known as "rasbhari" in India) are called so because of the "cape" they have, that is the thin papery skin around the luscious fruit, that's what I read recently, don't know how much of it is true. For the uninitiated here's a peep at the fruit...

cape gooseberry

Gooseberries have a peculiar intense fruity aroma, a rich orange color and a sweet-tart flavor interspersed with crunchy seeds, they are seasonal and don't keep for more than a day or so, all the more reason to turn them into jam...

This is the easiest jam you would have ever come across using just two simple ingredients, since gooseberries are rich in pectin, no artificial agent is added, all of you making jam for the first time-this is THE JAM RECIPE for you...

Ingredients-

  • Gooseberries-1/2 kg
  • Sugar-3/4 cup

Method-

Clean, wash and remove cape and stalks from the fruit, pat dry. Puree coarsely in a blender, it's perfectly okay if you have a few whole berries too.Transfer to a pan and put on heat, boil rapidly add sugar, cook for about 20 minutes till it starts getting real thick, stirring all the time.Take a clean steel plate and put a bit on it, it should not be runny, once it is "set" on the plate, take off fire, cool and bottle. That's it!

I loved it on toast for my morning breakfast with a cup of hot coffee.delicious!.This jam is on it's way to FIC-Orange brainchild of Sunshinemom, and eating with the seasons

cape gooseberry jam

Can you see the seeds, they go pop in the mouth!If you have taken out the time to read this post, do leave a comment it will just take a minute more of your time, but will make my day!Thanks!!

43 comments:

  1. Blog is really beautiful, love the logs on the main background!

    Haven't seen Cape Gooseberries here, jam looks yum. Great entry. Enjoy! :)

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  2. ive always seen only the one kind of gooseberries..the green ones..these are new to me...the jam does look sooo inviting!! feel like having a toast just for that :)

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  3. The ones we get here are a little sour but I made a cake and they tasted good but pics came bad:) I love your jam. Nice entry:) You haven't linked up with my blog - do see the details in Aparna's blog please:)

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  4. Hey this jam is new to me..They look lip-smackingly delicious..

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  5. Asha, yes I loved the logs too
    Superchef,sunshinemom and madhumati-thanks for the lovely comments!

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  6. WOW a new Look! looks great yaar. That jam is tempting me .. very delicious pic too.

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  7. Here in Ohio we call them "ground cherries", and they make a wonderful pie: http://www.columbusfoodie.com/2008/09/01/ground-cherry-pie/

    They're also delicious for just eating out of hand, they've got a nice pineapple flavor to them. :)

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  8. U have changes ur templates its seems, blog looks beautiful, gooseberry jam is really new to me, looks gorgeous:)

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  9. Hey Bindiya, new layout looks very beautiful. I never used cape gooseberry ..jam looks very delicious

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  10. This jam looks very tempting. I will surely try it out. And a great new look to the blog homepage. It's very contemporary. Thanks for all the recipes.

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  11. Hi Bindiya, I havent been here for ages. Your blog has turned into something really classy, but still cute, I am absolutely in love with the new design. Have been reading through the history, I didnt know you were a nutritionist, wow, I wish I knew what to eat to stay thin like you :-(

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  12. hey Bindiya check my blog for 2 wonderful awards.

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  13. Love the new looks of your blog! Jam sounds awesome Bindhya!

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  14. I totally love "rasbharries" as they are called here. They would never get to the jam stage because I'd eat them way before then

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  15. Love the rich colour of this jam. I have been seeing this fruit for the first time this year at mt market, but diddn't know what it was!
    Thanks for sending it in to FIC Orange.

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  16. love the new look!

    gooseberry jam on a warm toast..heaven....

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  17. just discovered your blog as i was posting on cape gooseberries and did a search. i love it. happily i found some cape gooseberries in the market yesterday unexpectedly. we LOVE them. but never make it the jam stage either. as they become more well known and available in the US, maybe we'll get the chance. thanks!

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  18. Hi
    Just read your blog.Great work.
    In us and grew cape gooseberries this year.Absolutely adore them and will grow several more plants next season.Dont have enough to can
    or turn into jam.We cant stop eating them fresh long enough.We dont have but one plant.Will try your very easy recipe though.I can cut it back and maybe have enough for a 4oz jar of jam.

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  19. I'm searching for THE BEST gooseberry jam recipe. Yours was very helpful. It is in fact my first attempt at jam so I like how you put that this is a great first timer recipe. I makes me weary though because my gooseberries look nothing like yours and are purple..not orange. It was still helpful though.

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  20. Thanks for the recipie. We grow the cape goosberries in Melbourne and have lots of fruit. We will try the jam.
    Regards Charlie

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  21. Hi Bindiya. Thanks for the recipe. I live in a small town just outside Cape Town, South Africa and gooseberries grow like weeds in my garden. I have just harvested and made your jam. We ate it at lunch with crusty bread, brie and cheddar with chives and onion. It was delicious!!

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  22. That picture brought back some wonderful memories of my childhood when in the Winter, my Dad would make jars of the jam and we used it as a spread on bread, chapati and parathas. I suggest adding whole cinnamon, cardamon and clove to add a little zing to it.

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  23. i was looking for a recipie that has apple in it too

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  24. Just what I wanted to hear :-) I'm actually going to add some lemon verbena leaf and a couple of apples to my 700gms, of berries. I think I'll pick out some good ripe berries and halve them to add after I've blended the rest. I was surprised to hear they have them in India because they're from Slovakia originally. Wild ones have a red cape and berry. The yellow, which taste much better, were originally used to dip in chocolate. The cape and a little stalk left on, (but not dipped).

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  25. thanks for the cape gooseberry jam recipe. I am going to give in a try this afternoon

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  26. I live in Costa Rica and have been looking for a way to take uchuvas (cape gooseberries) back to the US. This recipe seems like just what I needed. Thanks!

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  27. Lovely, Thank you so much.

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  28. Hi, I recently moved to New Delhi from Mumbai, and was instantly transported to my childhood when I saw those rasbharis at fruit stalls. In fact, I bought a whole bunch, and was thinking how a preserve would be great for a fruit like this. Thanks for the jam recipe, will surely try it out soon. You do have a great food blog, please keep it up.

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  29. I am going to try this recipe, also going to try making some small pies, using gooseberries plus grated lemon rind.
    I grew several plants from seed in 2011, live in the UK, gave two plants to my daughter and kept 6 for myself. They grew into big plants and I was very surprised to be picking them until Christmas when the frost killed the tops off. Have left the roots to see if they break again in the Spring.
    Interested to read about the Indian and Slovakia connection.
    Will sow some more seed this year and grow a few more plants.
    Has anyone tried freezing them?
    In the UK we only use the red cape gooseberries as floral Christmas decorations.
    Cape gooseberries, cut in half and stirred into Natural yogurt with some honey and flaked toasted almonds to taste makes a delicious dessert!

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  30. i am so interested in this lovely looking jam i am going to make it right now i will let you know how it goes cheers jo

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  31. Thanx for the rec. have just picked up a whole lot from APMC mumbai and ........will keep you posted

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  32. Just love the colour and excitement in the way you have displayed the Goosberry Jam recipe and information. My husband has always loved this jam & my Mum would make it for him. We have our own bushes and he cannot wait to taste the jam again. Thank you so much. We are off to make up your recipe!!!
    Shirley

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  33. Hi, we planted a couple of gooseberry plants last year - bumper crop right now so will be trying your recipe tonight. I think my granny used to make this jam, can't wait to try it again. Thank you. (Kirsty in New Zealand)

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  34. Is the gooseberry recipe usable with all types of them? I have red ones.

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  35. I have a garden in a community garden in New Jersey. This is the first year I planted Cape Gooseberries. They seem to have grown very well and I have a lot of the fruit hanging on the plant. My goal is to make jam with them for the winter - this looks like a nice easy recipe.

    Thanks

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  36. Hi
    I have a caape gooseberry bush here in Coburg near Melbourne and it is thriving. Great fun taking these to the local food swaps. My grandkids love them straight from the bush with a little help to get the little capes off. Thanks for that info I didn't know why the name "cape". Jam is next (having just finished a batch of marmalade)
    Happy harvesting and preserving!

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  37. Hi, Just used you're recipe, I added the fruit from 8 granadilla (passion fruit) to the recipe and followed your instructions - was surprised how long I had to boil the mixture to get the right consistency, but it reached 160 centigrade before it was right, and boy, was it right! Just had a slice of toast with it on, fantastic!! I used Cape Gooseberries, the yellow ones - thanks! Don

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  38. These things grow in the highlands here in Papua New Guinea. My one-year-old daughter really likes them! We've been cutting them in half and putting them in our pancakes, and they're super tasty that way.

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  39. Been meaning to cook this jam for awhile, I'm born in Calcutta India and there we call them Tuparry and my nana used to make it looking forward to those familiar smells I've not sensed for55 years. Thanks.

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  40. Been meaning to cook this jam for awhile, I'm born in Calcutta India and there we call them Tuparry and my nana used to make it looking forward to those familiar smells I've not sensed for55 years. Thanks.

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  41. My neighbor had a plant in her garden I was looking after while she was away and I harvested the Cape gooseberries, a handful at a time, and frozen them. Tis plant appeared from no-where and sadly there haven't been any self sewn ones this year. I've just found the berries in my freezer so am going to make your jam recipe and see how it tastes. I hear that you either love it or hate it ....... :)

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Hi, This is Bindiya and I would love to hear your views on this post. Feel free to ask any questions or share your views with me.