Q. Do you know what the difference is between a worm and a gooseberry? A. Have you ever tasted worm pie? |
Gooseberries by Mary (2013)
When I was a kid, I reluctantly followed my mom through a field of tall itchy weeds full of insects to look for wild gooseberries. The bushes had thorns. The whole outing was miserable. Mom would be excited, though, because now she would be able to bake a gooseberry pie which she and Dad loved. I didn't like gooseberry pie.
My attitude changed many years later when a friend brought gooseberry crisp to a social event and it was delicious. She had purchased the berries at The Old Market which sounded much easier than traipsing through the weeds. I thought maybe I should give gooseberries more credit, so we bought three bushes at Earl May Nursery for our little farm, and they have thrived.
Last year, I froze a small amount. It is tedious work as you need to remove the stem and tail, and doing even three cups for a crisp or pie was enough to make me stressed. Nope. Not my idea of enjoying the produce we raise. Then I recently read about making gooseberry jelly. Here was my answer. You can leave the stems and tail on, and after cooking a little to release the juice, they will collect in the jelly bag as the juice drains out. How easy! I tried a small amount to see if we liked it, and we did.
Another bonus is when using green gooseberries, expensive pectin isn't needed, so I made a whole batch of jelly using only gooseberries and sugar. Well, it didn't jell completely, but I guess it still can as it sets for quite awhile. Regardless, it is a yummy syrup on pancakes, waffles, or french toast! Larry also loves it on vanilla ice cream, and thought I should pick all the berries and continue making it. I did. I don't know who is going to eat these 28 various sized jars of gooseberry syrup/jelly. but he says we can give them away.
These gooseberries were easy to pick even though the plants have thorns. You just lift up a branch with one hand and grab handfuls of berries with the other, and yell "OW-W-W" occasionally.
 Above: Heating berries until they release their juice. Right: Juice is draining from the juice bag.  |  |
