13 July 2020 Gooseberries American

[Durgan]

13 July 2020 Gooseberries American
Posted on July 13, 2020 by Durgan
http://durgan.org/2020/July 2020/13 July 2020 Gooseberries American/HTML/ 13 July 2020 Gooseberries American
There are two gooseberry bushes. The smaller fruit I call American and the larger European. This post is of the American a total of 1766 grams. Gloves are necessary due to sharp thorns. I simply wipe the branch and direct the berries to the container. They are relatively sweet.

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[NigelJ]

As teenagers (mid 70's) we used to go gooseberry picking, for pocket money, after school. Used to wear either motorbike gloves or "dockers" gloves, bare forearms used to get badly scratched. The gooseberries went for pie filling and were picked quite early so hard and tart.
Still grow gooseberries, but let them get really ripe (fruit cage) and then have them uncooked with a splash of cream. They make a good but seedy reddish jam and gooseberry wine is excellent.
I have several varieties including Hedgehog ,Goldendrop and a dark red variety. American Gooseberry mildew can be an issue, but keeping a nice open structure, to allow air circulation helps; the other issue I gooseberry sawfly.

 

[Durgan]

I have never seen gooseberries sold in stores commercially. But have seen some small plots in home gardens. Probably as a novelty. I will slurry/juice the few I have today. We had a few in our garden when I was a child, but most sour. My batch is reasonably sweet when almost dropping off the vine.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

You can buy gooseberries from stores but more often fruit stands and farmers' markets. However cultivating them and black currants was Federally banned in 1911 in the USA (and still is in a few places) because of the risk of spreading white pine blister rust which and affect them. Rust resistant white pines are now grown, so the ban was lifted. Red American varieties are sweeter than green ones. Gooseberries contain a LOT of pectin, so gooseberry jam is very easy to make, requiring only gooseberries, sugar and water. NO pectin - unless you want gooseberry concrete! Just got some last week at a farmers' market in Leavenworth, WA and made jam - delicious!