Saturday, June 14, 2008

Gooseberries!

I sent someone to buy peas at a stall in the City Market while the boy and I wandered off, and that particular someone came back with...gooseberries. Gooseberries are not peas. I can't say that I have eaten a gooseberry before today, or that I know what in tarnation to do with the things.

To be frank, they look like a lot of work. Are they worth it??

Any tips, hints, help? Anyone?

4 comments:

jferg said...

Gooseberry pie! Absolutely worth it. Make just like a sour cherry pie. Or, "Joy of Cooking" suggests a 2/3 strawberries, 1/3 gooseberries mixture, if you don't have enough gooseberries to do a whole pie.

kcmeesha said...

actually the gooseberries they cell here are small and tart, I am used to them being large -about the size of large grape, slightly red/brown when ripe and sweet. My Mom used to make presrves, it's also good in compote where you can throw some apples, gooseberries, cherries, sour cherries, strawberries and any other fruit or berries in a pot of water and boil for a little bit (untill apples are soft but not falling apart),add sugar to taste. Chill and drink. There is nothing better.

Heatherkay said...

I've worked with gooseberries before, and I did find them to be a little bit of work to clean, especially if they are small. Pie and compote are both good ideas.

Gooseberries and tomatillos are related, and they are similarly tart and a bit gummy. You might try substituting in a recipe that calls for tomatillos, just to see what happens.

Jennifer said...

Mmmm...we love all berries here, but find gooseberries very interesting overall. They would be good with lamb, as the base of a margarita or spritzer...my favorite way to eat them is in the basic gooseberry fool. I wonder about taking advantage of their tartness and making a curd, or using in a salad dressing in place of lemon...