This delicious fruit is considered an invader in many gardens
Identification
Gooseberry is a brittle shrub. Hairy, leathery leaves are oak-shaped and bluish green to light green. The berries are packaged in little lantern-shaped bags. Flowers pale yellow, much like potatoes, of which it is family.
Harvesting
The berries are ripe when the lantern baggy it grows in is dry, pale brown, and starting to make tiny holes all over. Eating green berries is highly inadvisable, but waiting for them to ripen perfectly only plays into the hands of every bird in your neighbourhood. They ripen if picked when the baggy is well dry.
Preparation
The berry is extracted by ripping open the paper bag it grows in. Eat or cook, but make sure it is ripe.
Uses
A good marching food, high in sugar and fibre. This fruit also makes one of the world’s most exquisite jams. Sorbets and juices have been experienced with delight.
