The gooseberries are ripe

[British Red]

....and they make the king of jams!

 

[Mesquite]

Mmmm... goosgog jam is delicious.

If you don't get a good set and it's a bit runny, all is not lost as drizzled on vanilla ice cream it's a heavenly blend

 

[Broch]

Just spent two days down in the woods with a bunch of total beginners; they'd never seen wild gooseberry before! Mind you, they are the size of large peas (the gooseberries that is).

Is it coincidence that gooseberries and elderflower are ready at the same time? My favourite Pie

 

[Janne]

Gooseberries, a truly exotic fruit for me!
Delicious!
You are lucky to have such a good haul!

 

[Nice65]

Mmmm... goosgog jam is delicious.

If you don't get a good set and it's a bit runny, all is not lost as drizzled on vanilla ice cream it's a heavenly blend

That sounds lovely. It’s that pre-bedtime of night when I’m itching for something like that, when a cup of tea and biccy is just dull.

I miss our old fruitcage, it would be dripping raspberries and huge golden gooseberries by now, black/red/white currants and Japanese Wineberries on the way.

 

[santaman2000]

Mmmm... goosgog jam is delicious.

If you don't get a good set and it's a bit runny, all is not lost as drizzled on vanilla ice cream it's a heavenly blend

You ain’t helping my blood sugar levels.

 

[Woody girl]

Gooseberry crumble! Mmmm mmmmm
I'm waiting for mine. A week or so more and they'll be ready. I always stick a muslin bag of elderflowers in withe the gooseberrys when cooking them for a crumble. Lipsmackingly scrumptious. !

 

[Janne]

I have to settle with mangoes. Bad crop this year, no more than 15- 20 are on the trees.....

 

[Robson Valley]

I used to hunt birds with big Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
The gooseberries in autumn were always a treat that I left for the dogs to eat.
The dogs are gone but the gooseberries remain. I don't really care for them.
Prune heavy in the late autumn and transplant?

 

[British Red]

Mmmm... goosgog jam is delicious.

If you don't get a good set and it's a bit runny, all is not lost as drizzled on vanilla ice cream it's a heavenly blend

A sharper runny gooseberry jam is lovely with wild duck too

 

[British Red]

Just spent two days down in the woods with a bunch of total beginners; they'd never seen wild gooseberry before! Mind you, they are the size of large peas (the gooseberries that is).

Is it coincidence that gooseberries and elderflower are ready at the same time? My favourite Pie

It's a great combination, but so is gooseberry & chilli

 

[British Red]

Gooseberries, a truly exotic fruit for me!
Delicious!
You are lucky to have such a good haul!

Plenty more to come yet but we only harvest a few kilos at a time as the processing takes time

 

[British Red]

I used to hunt birds with big Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
The gooseberries in autumn were always a treat that I left for the dogs to eat.
The dogs are gone but the gooseberries remain. I don't really care for them.
Prune heavy in the late autumn and transplant?

I transplant once the leaves have fallen. They are fairly heavily rooted so a good prune & a sharp flat spade.

 

[nitrambur]

My missus bought me a Jostaberry plant, cross between a gooseberry and a blackcurrant, obviously no fruit this year, but looking forward to next to see what we can make with them

 

[Woody girl]

The sharp wild ones make a good addition to the sweeter cultivated variety when jam making. I also like them in an apple and gooseberry and elderflower fruit leather.
Today I'm making pear apple and star anise fruit leather.

 

[British Red]

For my fellow gooseberry lovers, here is our recipe for what we think of as (queue Carlsberg gravely voice);

"Probably the best gooseberry jam....in the world"!

I've thrown in our jar secrets, a spice secret or two and even how we get free pectin. Hope its enjoyable

 

[Janne]

I will watch this later. Always nice to learn something new on the food front!

Do you have Black currants? Any pro ideas there?

 

[santaman2000]

I just had breakfast but now I’m hungry again.

 

[British Red]

I will watch this later. Always nice to learn something new on the food front!

Do you have Black currants? Any pro ideas there?

We grow all the currants (black, white & red). I may well layer off another hundred square feet of blackcurrants, they are so versatile! Try sloe & blackcurrant jelly on venison, its incredible!

 

[Janne]

Blackcurrants are the only domestic fruit I have and can pick, so grateful for ideas.

Could Rowanberry be used? Maybe crushing/boiling out the juice first?

I still remember finding feral gooseberry bushes around old abandoned farms in Sweden on my treks. Fantastic fruit!