Topic: Green gooseberries

[Marlborough]

This might seem like a daft question, but how do you know when gooseberries are ready to pick?

[ThomsonAS]

Well, not sure about anyone else but the criteria I use are: 1. Size (are they almost the size of a grape?); 2. Taste (can I eat one without winceing and still want another?) and 3. squidginess (if they're hard as bullets, they're not ripe).

[LesH]

   Looking over the notes I've made over the years, I find, I usually pick mine around the last week in June.

[Bill Door]

I agree with ThomsonAS but would add one more point.

4. Has some other two legged B*****d decided they are ripe as well?

Bill

[alkanet]

they do go softer, and change colour a bit

or try tasting one

possibly not ready

[galina]

You can pick them at any stage.  Green, astringent and as hard as bullets is preferred by some for jam making. 

Personally I prefer them harvested when there is a little 'give' in the fruits, when they get a little more yellow and sweeter.  You can leave them for a few weeks longer and they get sweeter all the time, but the birds might harvest before you do.  As soon as I see bird interest, I know they are starting to sweeten up.

A fully ripe, sweet goosegog is a delight to eat.  Too good to use in cooking, but not many people let them get to that stage.   

[Silverleaf]

But gooseberries make amazing sauces!

[pumkinlover]

But gooseberries make amazing sauces!

Sweet /pudding sauces? or savoury?

[goodlife]

I like my green 'bullet' gooseberries cooked into desserts, that is stage when I find their flavour best for that particular use....and then fully ripe for eating straight from the bush...MMMMMMM

[Silverleaf]

But gooseberries make amazing sauces!

Sweet /pudding sauces? or savoury?

Both! I once had a fantastic chicken dish with gooseberry sauce.

[johhnyco15]

green gooseberry jam yum

[alkanet]

But gooseberries make amazing sauces!

Sweet /pudding sauces? or savoury?

a classic is gooseberry and mackerel

Delia had one somewhere

isn't the French for gooseberry mackerel berry?

[gazza1960]

Its that time of the season when the "Marmite" of the fruit world is in abundance,a proper luv it or hate it fruit and yes you guessed it,im all for it.

I like to use this sauce over Mackeral as it breaks up the oily after taste.

But on this Occasion its Pud Pud and more Pud that I enjoy with the sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1lb = 450 grms of Red Gooseberries(topped and tailed)...Soft Ripe Green ones are good as an alternative.
1 tbsp. of caster sugar per 100g of fruit
200ml water
1 tbsp Brandy
Juice of 1/2 Fresh Lemon
3 tbsps Elderflower Cordial
1 tbsp runny honey
500ml Double Cream



Top and tail then wash carefully all the Red Goosies  !!!!!



Place Gooseberries ,caster Sugar,water,and bring to a steady boil then reduce heat to a low simmer for 10 mins or until the fruits have broken down.

Remove from Heat and set aside to cool



Place Cooked gooseberries over a muslim cloth into a large bowl and squeeze the fruit juice out.

I throw the skins and seeds away, but you may wish to liquidise them and
add to ice cream should you so wish. 

At this stage the fluid may be runny so we need to reduce this 400ml by half   !!!!!!!!!!



bring the fruit juice to a boil and reduce heat to medium,now add the Brandy,Honey,Lemon Juice and Elderflower Cordial,you may wish to add more caster sugar according to how sweet you like the final Puree.

Let this bubble away for a further 10 mins as we want a Gluey Puree that runs slowy off of a spoon.

set aside to cool completely..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Whip the double cream to stiff peaks and add 50ml of the Gooseberry Puree,now beat together ....taste ,.....if you want a richer cream mixture just add some more puree to taste.



A tall dessert glass makes for a fun eating experience as you can layer the Cream with the Puree and repeat till the glass is full.

Chill in the fridge and garnish with a few Red Gooseberries(or soft ripe Green ones) and some mint leaves.

Enjoy

Gazza

[Yorkshire Lass]

What happened to the Slimming World recipes Gazza???  I was looking forward to pinching some of them!

[Digeroo]

They are sweetest just before the birds strip them. So I tend to pick them under ripe.

[strawberry1]

I wanted to stagger picking and also take half the gooseberries off so that the bushes could concentrate on what was left. I bottled them and they were fantastic for several weeks in the winter. The freezer was going to be overfull with everything else. I will do the same this year and will start in a few weeks

[galina]

What happened to the Slimming World recipes Gazza???  I was looking forward to pinching some of them!

Not the same for sure, but how about this, Yorkshire Lass? -  cook the goosies in little water,  with sweetener, blizz up for puree until smooth (more fibre, less cooking down needed to make the sauce thicker or even none), layer with Greek yoghurt (there are zero fat Greek yoghurts available), decorate and serve.

Just a suggestion - I haven't tried it yet, but it is the sort of thing I might play with after being inspired by Gazza's lovely post.  Should be slimming and diabetic friendly   

And as an afterthought - if entertaining with non slimming or non diabetic friends, theirs could be decorated with meringue pieces or served on a meringue nest perhaps. 

[davholla]

I wanted to stagger picking and also take half the gooseberries off so that the bushes could concentrate on what was left. I bottled them and they were fantastic for several weeks in the winter. The freezer was going to be overfull with everything else. I will do the same this year and will start in a few weeks

An interesting idea, how did you bottle them?  Did you get more that way?
I had a very poor yield last year but this year looks better thanks to a) feeding b) killing all the gooseberry sawfly.

[gazza1960]

Life isn't all about sticking to a "Regime" Yorkshire Lass sometimes I let the sugary juices flow,I just have a small portion
and Mum and Jude enjoy the rest......but hey.......I do like to read friendly alternatives and Galinas is well worth trying
when the Goosies appear in my garden.

[goodlife]

Ooooohh....I LOOOOOOVE green gooseberries cooked, sweetened and the 'sauce' thickened with potato flour to quite gloopy thick mixture...cooled and then LOADS loaded on dollop of FULL FAT= proper greek yogurt....
I call my green ones 'thinnings' too as rest can then ripen on bush. For some reason birds don't seem to gobble that many of them down...maybe it is because we have 'rich pickings' here loads to go for as I rarely net any of my berries. Yes, they have some but never take that many that I could not have my share...

But give a birds a chance with my peas and there won't be a single leaf left on the plants.....