'Blott Sverige svenska krusbär har'

[Only Sweden has Swedish gooseberries] author Carl Jonas Love Almquist (1793-1866) once lamented. Who can argue with that? 

  • Krusbärssylt—gooseberry jam.

  • “Blott Sverige svenska krusbär har” (“Only Sweden has Swedish gooseberries”) author Carl Jonas Love Almquist (1793-1866) once lamented. And while that certainly is true, there’s nothing that says gooseberries elsewhere aren’t just as tasty.

  • Perhaps author Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, who seems to have had a penchant for Swedish gooseberries, would have liked the jam? If the gooseberries aren’t Swedish, at least the recipe is.

  • Here at least is a Swedish recipe for what you can make with gooseberries – Swedish or not – a recipe for gooseberry jam, which is great to eat with Swedish “filmjölk” (impossible to find in the US, yes, but we found a perfect substitute in Lifeway’s plain kefir, and you can add it to plain yoghurt as well as pancakes and waffles). The recipe comes from Alltommat.se

  • Ingredients:
    2.3 lbs cleaned gooseberries
    4 oz water
    540 g sugar

  • Instruction:
    Bring berries and water to boil in a pot under lid, and let boil 10-15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the sugar, a little at a time. Bring up to a boil again, and then let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove foam, and pour the jam into clean, glass jars.