There were plenty of gooseberries this year, and the other berry harvest was quite good too. Two small bushes were literally covered in berries. The berries were large and sweet.
But the thorns on the branches make it difficult to pick the berries; they tend to dig into your skin and scratch your hands. Therefore, few people want to pick these berries. And it's not at all convenient to do so while wearing gloves.
The berries on the upper branches have been picked, but there are still a lot of gooseberries in the center of the bushes.
My husband put on thick gloves and picked up the twigs, and I collected them. We filled a small bucket.
I decided to make some compote. I've never preserved gooseberries before. This year, I made some jam, mashed some of the berries in a blender, sprinkled them with sugar, and froze them. So, I decided to make some compote. I'd looked online to see what other people were making with gooseberries. There were so many interesting recipes, maybe I'll try something someday. But this time, I decided to make a regular compote. I didn't have an orange or lemon at home, and after going to the dacha that evening, I didn't want to stop at the store.
I love making compotes, using a variety of berries, usually in 2-3-liter bottles. They're easy to make and store. This was my first time making gooseberry compote. I remembered a friend who lives in the garden telling me that when making jam or compote from gooseberries, you need to pierce the berries on both sides to allow the syrup to penetrate. I was making the compote in the evening after I'd left the garden, and I didn't feel like piercing the berries on both sides, so after washing them, I removed the stems and tips. The berries were quite large, so I made the compote in jars.
I thoroughly washed two jars, one liter and one 3 liter, and sterilized them in the oven. I also rinsed the berries under running water and lightly dried them. I filled them halfway. I poured boiling water over them, covered them with lids, and left them for 15 minutes to warm the berries thoroughly. Pouring hot water over the berries is a kind of blanching. After 15 minutes, I drained the water, measuring the volume. The water turned pale pink. I added sugar to the 1 liter jar, brought it to a boil, and tasted it. I found the syrup too sour, so I added another half cup of sugar. Now the syrup was sweet, but the berries will release their acidity into the syrup in the jars, and I think the compote will be delicious. However, if it's too sweet, you can dilute it with water. I poured boiling syrup over the jars, closed the lids, and turned the jars upside down. After a while, I shook the jars and placed them under a warm blanket. The next day, I took the jars out from under the blanket; they were still warm. This is the compote that turned out so beautifully pink.
But we'll find out what it tastes like in winter.