In the spotlight - Gooseberries

It's funny the way we associate certain things with specific foods, be that occasions, people or places. Although their season may be well up now, I always associate gooseberries with the autumn. I think this might be down to fond childhood memories of the warming dessert of gooseberries and custard that we would have as the temperature started to drop and the nights drew in. We had an allotment, so there were always some gooseberries in the freezer left over from a bumper crop - I also remember helping to top and tail them. Perhaps you've had the foresight to freeze some yourself or have a farm shop - or anywhere else for that matter - nearby who sell these frozen year round. I suppose failing that, they can always be bought tinned, though I do tend to find these disappointing, as you don't get many gooseberries in a can and they are swimming in syrup.




Although I have never been myself, the village of Egton Bridge in North Yorkshire holds a gooseberry show each August and has been running since 1800. The heaviest gooseberry ever shown there weighed in at 35g in 2009 - visually that's the size of a golf ball. The show is run by the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society, one of only two surviving societies in England - before the First World War gooseberry shows were popular with over 170 held each year, after which they steadily declined.

Nutritionally gooseberries are a good source of Vitamin C, though their content decreases on cooking, so don't leave them bubbling for hours, only for as long as they need to soften. Gooseberries are also rich in fibre.

If you have some gooseberries to hand and are perhaps wanting a change from the usual pie, crumble or fool, what else might you do with them? Gooseberries don't just need to be kept to desserts and baking; in fact their tart flavour lends them well to savoury dishes - think curries or as a sauce to accompany fish, poultry or game.

Try the following websites for inspiration:
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-2759/gooseberry-recipes.aspx
http://www.cooksunited.co.uk/rs/s0/gooseberry/recipes.html
http://uktv.co.uk/food/ingredient/aid/506791


Photo by Neurovehlo (own work) via Wikimedia Commons