Gooseberry

What it is

The European gooseberry is Ribes uva-crispa. Its oval berries have see-through skin and can be green, yellow, pink or red when ripe. They grow singly or in little groups on a woody, thorny bush.

A green gooseberry can be ripe: colour depends on the variety. The Indian gooseberry and the Cape gooseberry are different fruits, despite sharing the name.

Where it comes from

The European gooseberry comes from northern Eurasia, with a native range reaching the Caucasus and North Africa. They first appear in English records in the 1200s, in bills for plants imported from the continent; by the 1500s, gooseberries grew widely in British gardens.

North America has its own gooseberry, Ribes hirtellum. Most American garden varieties also carry some European ancestry, from a handful of crosses made in the 1800s.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Britain, gooseberry fool folds softened, sweetened berries into whipped cream, with shortbread alongside. An elderflower version cooks the berries in sugar and elderflower cordial, then mixes the cooled fruit with cream and yoghurt.

Their slightly sharp flavour also made them a traditional partner for fatty meat and oily fish. In France, their name translates as “mackerel currant”, because they were popularly eaten with mackerel.

How it's grown

A gooseberry bush reaches about 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) tall and wide. It can set fruit without a second bush nearby, and starts bearing about one to three years after planting. Rich soil that drains freely and a little shade suit it. Thorny stems make the harvest a careful job.

When and where you'll find it

In Britain, cooking berries are usually picked green in June; ripe dessert berries usually follow from late June into early August. Greengrocers and farmers’ markets are places to meet the fresh fruit. Alaska’s harvest usually comes later, from mid-August to mid-September.

Beyond the fresh season, gooseberries travel canned or frozen. Whole berries can go into the freezer after rinsing, removing the stalk and blossom ends and drying, ready for a later pie or fool.