8 Best Recipes for Pickled Gooseberries for the Winter

Pickling gooseberries is a popular pastry in the eastern regions of our country. This sweet and sour berry is used as an appetizer, making a wonderful addition to a cheerful feast. Recipes call for a wide variety of spices. You can pickle the berries with caraway, cloves, and mint. But before you begin preserving gooseberries, check out the recipes below.

The subtleties and secrets of preparing pickled gooseberries

There are a few nuances that a novice cook should be aware of:

1. Not all varieties are suitable for pickling. Avoid sweet berries; they're best used for jam or compote.
2. Preference is given to gooseberries that have not yet reached full ripeness; if the berry is overripe, there is no point in pickling it.

Note: Gooseberries are often combined with other ingredients to add a piquant flavor to a recipe.

Selection and preparation of ingredients and containers

When choosing berries, pay attention to the following aspects:

• the fruits must be moderately ripe, without signs of rot, mold, or spoilage;
• The presence of damage and unknown inclusions is not welcome; such berries are not suitable for canning.

Gooseberries need to be washed, sorted, and inspected – this will help create a high-quality preparation that will last a long time without spoiling.

The containers are also prepared for the creation of blanks, and they are handled as follows:

1. The jars are washed with warm water using baking soda.
2. Inspect for chips, cracks, and damage.
3. Then turn it upside down to let the water drain.
4. Sterilize over steam for 10 minutes.
5. The lids are boiled separately, in a suitable container, for 5 minutes.

The jars will retain their properties for 2 days, during which time they can be used for their intended purpose.

Methods for preparing delicious pickled gooseberries

There are many ways to preserve gooseberries for the winter, and pickling is one of them. Recipes will help you create a delicious snack; we'll look at simple and popular ones.

Classic recipe with a salty marinade

To create the appetizer, you will need to do the following:

• wash the berries and remove the stems, dry them;
• pierce the fruit with a toothpick to prevent the gooseberries from cracking when exposed to boiling water;
• At the same time, prepare the dressing using water, salt, bay leaf and black peppercorns;
• bring it to a boil, cool it a little, and at this time place the berries in jars;
• fill them with marinade, close the lids, and turn them upside down;
• We don’t cover the jars with a blanket, wait until they cool down, and then turn them over.

The snack needs time to mature and develop flavor. This will happen in a week. Then you can open the containers and begin tasting the finished product.

Preparing berries in a sweet marinade

We begin marinating with the following steps:

1. We wash the berries and inspect them, removing any spoiled or rotten ones.
2. We pierce them with a toothpick or skewer so that the gooseberries do not burst.
3. Prepare the filling from sugar, water, peppercorns, bay leaf.
4. We place the fruits in jars, fill them with hot marinade and send them for sterilization.
5. Sterilize the containers in a saucepan for 20 minutes, covering them with a lid and placing a linen towel on the bottom of the saucepan.
6. Then we close the jars with lids, turn them over and wait for 24 hours; after the specified time, we put the preserves into storage.

Recipe with garlic

The method for preparing the snack is simple, what we will do:

• peel the garlic and place one to one and a half cloves in each jar;
• Let's prepare a marinade without sugar, with salt and spices. You can use: pepper, cloves, salt, bay leaf;
• bring the filling to a boil, cool, repeat the procedure 3 times;
• Place the berries in containers and pour hot, but not boiling, marinade over them;
• We cover the blanks with lids and send them for sterilization, then roll them up.

You can skip sterilizing the jars and boil the marinade, then drain it and repeat the process three more times. Then, pour the marinade over the jars until it overflows, then seal them with lids.

Cooking in a hurry without sterilization

If you're making pickled gooseberries using the quick recipe, boil the brine several times, as described in the previous recipe. You don't need to boil the brine for long; 2 minutes is enough.

Pour the hot marinade over the berries, let it cool, and drain, bringing it back to a boil. For the third time, seal the jars with lids.

Don't forget to add vinegar before closing the jars – this will help extend the shelf life of the product.

Spicy gooseberries marinated with spices

You will need to prepare a dressing using the following spices:

1. Take black peppercorns, currant leaves, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, you can add red pepper to make the snack spicy.
2. Prepare the marinade with water, sugar and salt; the spices can be placed in jars or dipped into the prepared brine.
3. We place the gooseberries, peeled from their stems, into jars, after piercing the berries with a toothpick.
4. Pour the marinade into the containers with the fruit, drain it after 20 minutes and bring to a boil, repeat the procedure 3 times.
5. Then we close the jars, turn them over and wrap them in a warm blanket. After 24 hours, we remove the blanket and put the preparation into storage.

With caraway seeds

This seasoning will add aroma and a unique flavor to the preparation. How to prepare:

• add caraway seeds, cloves, cinnamon, salt, pepper, bay leaf and sugar to the marinade;
• we prepare it according to the standard recipe, wait until it boils, boil for 2-3 minutes;
• Place the berries and currant leaves in a jar, pour in the brine and wait for 15 minutes;
• pour the marinade back into the pan, bring to a boil again, repeat the procedure 3 times;
• then we close the containers with lids, turn the preparation over, wrap it in a towel or a warm blanket;
• After 24 hours, the containers can be turned over and sent to a suitable place for storage.

With mint and hot pepper

We will do the following:

1. Place berries and mint sprigs in a container.
2. Pour boiling water over them, but not all at once, gradually, so that the container does not burst.
3. When it is full, leave it for 14-18 minutes, covered with a lid.
4. Drain the water, add salt and pepper, and bring to a boil in a saucepan.
5. Let it cool a little, add vinegar to the hot marinade and pour it into the jars.
6. We wrap them up, but do not turn them over.

Note: If you are using capsicum or red pepper, place the pods on the bottom of the jar, then the gooseberries, and the top layer is mint.

With herbs and coriander seeds

We will prepare the preserves according to the following scheme:

• place sprigs of greenery and a change of cilantro on top of the prepared, sorted gooseberries;
• prepare the filling from water, salt, pepper and bay leaf;
• Boil the marinade for 2-3 minutes, cool slightly and pour it into the jars;
• then we drain the brine, boil it again, and repeat this 3 times;
• For the 3rd time, close everything with lids, wrap it in a blanket, and leave for 12 hours.

Features of storing canned food

Pickled gooseberries can be stored in a warm or cool place. A cellar, basement, or refrigerator are all suitable. The shelf life of the product is no more than 12 months.

Creating a delicious side dish that complements a meat dish is easy. Recipes will help you get the job done. It is important to strictly follow the recommendations and not violate the proportions and algorithm of actions.