Jam Smarts

Day 16: Let us assume for the moment that you have the great good fortune to have gooseberries available to you. You will need four cups of them, topped, tailed and cut in half. Add a small amount of water (not enough to cover them, but close) and bring to a good boil. Cook for 15 minutes to soften the skins. Be sure you have sterilized jars and lids ready to go. Add 7.5 cups of sugar plus about two teaspoons of butter (to prevent foaming). Bring to a hard boil and maintain it for three minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in one packet of Certo liquid pectin. Return to the stove and boil for one minute. Take the pan off the stove so that the jam can cool down before jarring up. Stir frequently for ten minutes to prevent floating fruit. Decant the jam into jars, seal and process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes (half-pints). The result will be 8-9 jars of what is easily my very favourite jam of all time. Gooseberries, my friends, are a priceless commodity, seldom grown these days because they take so much work to prepare. Voice of experience here, I got some "jam smarts" this summer, preparing small amounts every day as they ripened, then putting them in the freezer for processing into jam during cooler weather. Nine cups of gooseberries yielded 18 half-pints of jam. I'm set for winter!