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SWEDISH FOOD

Swedish recipe: How to make gooseberry and elderflower compote

Both elderflower and gooseberries grow around Sweden in summer. Food writer John Duxbury explains how to turn them into a tasty compote.

Published: 21 July 2017 06:59 CEST
Swedish recipe: How to make gooseberry and elderflower compote
Gooseberry and elderflower compote. Photo: John Duxbury/Swedish Food

Gooseberries are indigenous to northern Europe and thrive in Sweden’s cool climate with damp soil and so have long been popular in Sweden. However, strangely they are not sold that often in supermarkets in Sweden and so Swedes who like gooseberries often have to grown their own.

Gooseberries, with their slightly tart flavour, make make a refreshing change from other summer fruits. They are also rich in vitamins A, B and C so they are good for you too.

Gooseberries are enjoying something of a revival and beginning to make more appearances in supermarkets. If you see any, buy some and make this delicious compote!

Summary

Makes about 4×1 lb jars

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 40 minutes

Total: 50 minutes plus time to cool

Tips

– I prefer to make this compote with a tart cooking gooseberry such as Invicta, Jubilee or Careless. If you choose a sweeter variety, such as Xenia, you might need to reduce the amount of sugar.

– I prefer a slightly tart compote, so I have suggested using 800g of sugar per 1000g of gooseberries, rather than equal weights of sugar and berries which is more usual. Do feel free to increase the amount of sugar if you have a sweet tooth.

– I use homemade elderflower cordial (syrup), but if you haven't got any you can use a good quality commercial brand instead.

– Where I live, by the time gooseberries are ready the elderflower season is over, but for a recipe using fresh elderflowers scroll down.

– The compote is delicious on scones, crumpets and muffins, with våfflor (waffles) or pannkakor (pancakes) or in a flaky pastry layer cake.

– The compote can also be heated gently and served as a sauce with pork or poured over ice cream.

– Don't boil for more than seven minutes in step four without doing a “saucer test”, otherwise the compote may end up overcooked.

– For more tips on jam making, click here.

Ingredients

1 kg (2 ¼ lb) green gooseberries

800g (4 cups) jam sugar (there is enough pectin in gooseberries to use ordinary granulated sugar if you prefer a lighter set)

6 tbsp elderflower cordial (syrup)

½ tsp butter, if necessary

½-1 tsp elderflower essence, if necessary

Method

1. Pick over the gooseberries, removing any bruised berries or leaves. Rinse and then top and tail.

2. Add about two millimetres (1/8 inches) of water to a preserving pan. Tip the washed gooseberries into the pan and add the elderflower cordial (syrup). Gently bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to ensure that the berries don't burn. Simmer gently until the berries are soft, about ten minutes.

3. Add the sugar, stir well and heat gently again, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved, about ten minutes.

4. Increase the heat to maximum and boil rapidly for between four minutes (light set) to seven minutes (firm set). Stir occasionally to avoid burning.

5. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the scum. If any scum is hard to remove, add a little butter and stir it into the mixture as this will help to dissolve the remaining scum.

6. Leave the compote to cool for 15 minutes, then have a taste. If you think it needs a litte more elderflower, add some essence, stirring thoroughly after each addition.

7. Finally, pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Using fresh elderflowers

If you live in an area where elderflowers and gooseberries are ripe together then you can use the method below.

Ingredients

1 kg (2 ¼ lb) green gooseberries

800g jam sugar (or ordinary granulated sugar, see above)

10-12 elderflower heads

½ tsp butter, if necessary

Method

1. Pick over the elderflowers carefully to ensure that there are no insects lurking in their midst (if necessary, leave them to soak for a few minutes in water). Tie them together with a long piece of string, leaving at least 30 centimetres free.

2. Pick over the gooseberries, removing any bruised berries or leaves. Rinse and then top and tail.

3. Add about two millimetres of water to a preserving pan. Tip the washed gooseberries into the pan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring regularly to ensure that they don't burn. Boil steadily until the berries burst.

4. Add the sugar and elderflowers, leaving the string hanging over the edge of the pan so that you can fish them out later. Stir well and heat gently again, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved, about ten minutes.

5. Increase the heat to a maximum and boil rapidly for between four minutes (light set) and seven minutes (firm set), stirring occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the pan.

6. Remove the elderflowers and discard them, then use a spoon to remove the scum.

7. If any scum is hard to remove, add a little butter and stir it into the mixture as this will help to dissolve the remaining scum.

8. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then give one final stir, pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Recipe published courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of Swedish Food.

FOOD AND DRINK

OPINION: Are tips in Sweden becoming the norm?

Should you tip in Sweden? Habits are changing fast thanks to new technology and a hard-pressed restaurant trade, writes James Savage.

Published: 5 April 2024 13:59 CEST
OPINION: Are tips in Sweden becoming the norm?

The Local’s guide to tipping in Sweden is clear: tip for good service if you want to, but don’t feel the pressure: where servers in the US, for instance, rely on tips to live, waiters in Sweden have collectively bargained salaries with long vacations and generous benefits. 

But there are signs that this is changing, and the change is being accelerated by card machines. Now, many machines offer three preset gratuity percentages, usually starting with five percent and going up to fifteen or twenty. Previously they just asked the customer to fill in the total amount they wanted to pay.

This subtle change to a user interface sends a not-so-subtle message to customers: that tipping is expected and that most people are probably doing it. The button for not tipping is either a large-lettered ‘No Tip’ or a more subtle ‘Fortsätt’ or ‘Continue’ (it turns out you can continue without selecting a tip amount, but it’s not immediately clear to the user). 

I’ll confess, when I was first presented with this I was mildly irked: I usually tip if I’ve had table service, but waiting staff are treated as professionals and paid properly, guaranteed by deals with unions; menu prices are correspondingly high. The tip was a genuine token of appreciation.

But when I tweeted something to this effect (a tweet that went strangely viral), the responses I got made me think. Many people pointed out that the restaurant trade in Sweden is under enormous pressure, with rising costs, the after-effects of Covid and difficulties recruiting. And as Sweden has become more cosmopolitain, adding ten percent to the bill comes naturally to many.

Boulebar, a restaurant and bar chain with branches around Sweden and Denmark, had a longstanding policy of not accepting tips at all, reasoning that they were outdated and put diners in an uncomfortable position. But in 2021 CEO Henrik Kruse decided to change tack:

“It was a purely financial decision. We were under pressure due to Covid, and we had to keep wages down, so bringing back tips was the solution,” he said, adding that he has a collective agreement and staff also get a union bargained salary, before tips.

Yet for Kruse the new machines, with their pre-set tipping percentages, take things too far:

“We don’t use it, because it makes it even clearer that you’re asking for money. The guest should feel free not to tip. It’s more important for us that the guest feels free to tell people they’re satisfied.”

But for those restaurants that have adopted the new interfaces, the effect has been dramatic. Card processing company Kassacentralen, which was one of the first to launch this feature in Sweden, told Svenska Dagbladet this week that the feature had led to tips for the average establishment doubling, with some places seeing them rise six-fold.

Even unions are relaxed about tipping these days, perhaps understanding that they’re a significant extra income for their members. Union representatives have often in the past spoken out against tipping, arguing that the practice is demeaning to staff and that tips were spread unevenly, with staff in cafés or fast food joints getting nothing at all. But when I called the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Union (HRF), a spokesman said that the union had no view on the practice, and it was a matter for staff, business owners and customers to decide.

So is tipping now expected in Sweden? The old advice probably still stands; waiters are still not as reliant on tips as staff in many other countries, so a lavish tip is not necessary. But as Swedes start to tip more generously, you might stick out if you leave nothing at all.

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