Preserving fruit

[Seaweed]

I have just been around a friends & picked a whole stack of gooseberries. I am sure we can probaby eat them all but I thought it would be nice to preserve some. I was figuring I can either a) freeze them or b) jar them somehow. I don't want to make jam & i am not keen on sugar syruping them. Does anyone know if they would preserve if I cooked them in honey & then did the overflow method? Also could I jar cooked apple without adding sugar?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Yes, Peter does all the apple with no sugar, fills the jars with apple pulp right to the top, puts lid on, and cools them down with the fan on them. The lids pop fast, and rarely to any go alcoholic on us.

How about this? it's fantastic with Poultry:

Spiced Gooseberry Pickly.

1 kg/2 lb 4 oz gooseberries
150 mls/1/4 ppint water
2 think-skinned sweet oranges,
2 thin-skinned lemons
225 g/8 ozs sultanas,
large piece of root ginger,
stick of cinnamon
2 blades of mace,
1 tbs whole cloves
2 lbs dark brown molasses sugar, (some people use 3 lbs/1350g light soft brown which is what the original recipe says...)
1 pint red wine (or malt/white) vinegar.

Wash top tail gooseberries in stainless steel pan. Cook until the skins are tender. Wash and thinly slice the oranges and lemons remvoing pips. Bruise spices and tie them in a muslin bag. For a stronger different flavour slightly roast the dry spices. Put all ingres with sugar and vinega with gooseberries. heat gently, stirring well until sugar dissolved. bring to the boil, simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture is thick. Remove muslin, pot and seal.

Or Bengal chutney

1 kg/2lb4 ozs gooseberries,
150g/5 1/2 oz seedless raising
150 g/5 1/2 oz demarara sugar
1 tbs sea salt
25 g/1 oz onion
25g/1oz cayenne pepper
75 g/3 oz ground ginger
75g/3 oz mustard seed
2 tbs golden syrup
450 ml/3/4 pint malt vinegar.

Wash top tail gs, in pan water, simmer till skins just beginning to soften. chop raisins, add with rest of ingreds, stir till sugar dissolved, simmer 2 hours being careful not to burn. When thick and smooth, pot and seal. Very strong chutney, sometimes made with apples rather than gooseberries.

[Seaweed]

yum! The spiced gooseberry pickly looks delish.

I found this about preserving fruit in honey so I am gonna give a small jar a go. http://www.homefamily.net/index.php?/categories/foodnutrition/cooking_with_honey/

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

sorry about the typos.... Pickle it is...

Interesting page...

[Seaweed]

It still looks very yummy even if it isn't called pickly!