(Ribes – Family Saxifragaceae)
Gooseberry, Wild gooseberry, black gooseberry, mountain gooseberry, smooth gooseberry, coastal black gooseberry, white-stemmed gooseberry, Idaho gooseberry, inland black gooseberry, northern gooseberry, swamp gooseberry, swamp currant, prickly currant
groseille maquereau (French), Stachelbeere (German), uva spina (Italian), grosella blanca/grosella verde (Spanish), kruisbes (Dutch), stikkelsbær (Danish/Norwegian), krusbär (Swedish), karviaismarja (Finnish), kryzhovnik (Russian), agrest (Polish), ogrozd (Serbo-Croat), agrisa (Romanian), tsarigradsko grozde (Bulgarian), ribesion (Greek), bektasiüzümü (Turkish), ‘inab al-tha’lab (Arabic), suguri (Japanese)
Gooseberries are of the same species as the currant and native to Europe and North America.
They were first cultivated in the 16th century; and, now, the main cultivated species is the European gooseberry (R. grossulari).
The fruits grow on spiny bushes, and vary considerably in appearance and taste – hard and sour, succulently soft and sweet, smooth and hairy.
They also have a wide range of colour from vivid green to luscious purple. Often, a distinction is made between dessert gooseberries, which are eaten raw, and cooking gooseberries, which are sour but flavourful when cooked.
Wild gooseberries are the fruits of erect to spreading deciduous shrubs, complete with bristles and stout thorns at the leaf nodes. The leaves are small and shaped like a maple leaf, having three to five deep, toothed lobes.
The fruits are round and smooth, reddish purple to deep bluish purple or purplish black, and have a good flavour when ripe. All the species closely resemble one another, but have a few distinguishing characteristics in the plant.
Their native habitat is the open woods, prairies, and moist hillsides; but some can be found along the banks of streams, in thickets at the edge of meadows, and open or wooded mountain ridges.
Gooseberries contain vitamins A and D, and are high in vitamin C, as well as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, niacin, and dietary fiber.
Rich in pectin, gooseberries are ideal for jams and jellies; but they can also be frozen for later use. They also contain ellagic acid, a natural cancer-fighting substance also found in many other berries.
Even better, this all important phytochemical does not break down during cooking. North American natives used the swamp gooseberry (R. lacustre) to make a tea which they said was especially good for colds. Others made a “catnip tea” from the menthol-flavoured leaves, branches, and inner bark of the shrub. The resulting “tea” was not used as a beverage, but rather as a medicine in the event of colds or diarrhea.
Gooseberries were popular all over Britain well before the Tudors, who served them in a variety of ways. The first record is a fruiterer’s bill from the court of the English King Edward I, dated 1276, for gooseberry bushes that were imported from France.
Even though the fruit was never popular there, it is the French who used them in a sauce to cut the richness of oily fish. In France, the gooseberry shares its name with the redcurrant, and called groseille de maquereau, meaning “redcurrant for mackerel”. The English name likely came about as a result of the same type of usage, only served on a cooked “goose” rather than fish.
Another supposition is that it was probably named as a result of a corruption of the Dutch name Kruisbes (or Gruisbes), derived from Kruis (the Cross) and Bes (the berry) because the fruit was ready for use just after the Festival of the Invention of the Holy Cross. “Kruis-haring” in Dutch is herring caught after the same festival. In southern Europe, the gooseberry is largely ignored and, Latin languages do not distinguish between it and its near relative, the currant.
In 1905, a mildew disease was accidentally introduced from America, wiping out the whole crop of European gooseberries. The plant was re-established by crossing an American species resistant to mildew, but the fruit never did regain its former popularity.
Gooseberry bushes grow wild in most of the northern temperate zone, flourishing in cool, moist or high regions. Most wild species are thorny with sour berries, and it is not surprising that they were one of the last berries to be cultivated. Some thornless varieties have since been developed.
One of the best cultivars from the Old World is Ribes divaricatum, known as the Worcesterberry, which is a small, very dark, almost black berry. Another wild species which is now being cultivated is R. cynosbati, which produces berries best suited for preserves. In Asia, especially Siberia and the Himalayas, wild gooseberries are gathered but not cultivated.
From the late 18th century and throughout the next, amateur gooseberry clubs were set up in the Midlands and the North of England, holding competitions for the best flavoured and the juiciest berry.
By the 1980s, fewer than ten such clubs remained, mostly in Cheshire. The best known club, however, is the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society in Yorkshire, founded around 1800. They have held annual competitions every year since that time, with the exception of one or two years during WWI.
The sole criterion for the competition is weight and a record achieved in 1985. This champion was from the yellow variety of gooseberry called Woodpecker (not the bird). Running true to the its name, however, the berry produced was the size of an egg, weighing 1.925 ounces.
The world record holder appeared in 1978 at Marton in Cheshire, and was from the same variety, weighing 2.06 ounces. Giant gooseberries are produced by removing all the growing berries, except one, from the plant.
Gooseberries have a long season. Early ones are usually a bright green, rather hard and cannot be eaten raw. These are followed by the softer, midseason fruits.
In Britain, Ribes reticulata is the pricipal cultivated species, which came about mainly through the efforts of many orchardists who have produced larger and sweeter varieties.
In North America and Asia, there are species much like those of Europe. Varieties are not usually identified in markets, but some of the following may be of interest to growers or may be recognized by shoppers.
Early sulphur is an early almost transparent berry with a sweet flavour.
Goldendrop is a small yellow berry with a rich flavor, making it ideal to be eaten raw.
Langley’s industryis a large, red, hairy berry with a sweet flavour and will grow virtually anywhere, making it easy for gardeners. The fruit can be picked early for cooking or left to ripen fully to be eaten raw like grapes.
Leveller is a midseason, yellowish-green berry with a sweet flavour.
London is a huge midseason deep red or purple berry, often used raw as a dessert. Between 1829 and 1867, it was the unbeaten British champion in major gooseberry competitions.
Worcestershire or American Worcesterberry (Ribes divaricatum) is a North American species that grows on bushes having nasty spines. The fruit is small and purplish-red and not much bigger than blackberries, but it does have the distinctive veining and flavour. They can be eaten either raw or cooked. Cultivation of these plants was discouraged because, like the currant, gooseberry bushes act as hosts for a disease that can plague timber trees.
The name “gooseberry” does not always apply to the Ribes species of fruit. Many are not related at all. Some of the more common ones are as follows:
Abyssinian Gooseberry (Dovyalis abyssinica – Family Flacourtiaceae) is from an entirely different family and native to the forests of East Africa. The plant bears fruits which have the colour and flavour similar to the apricot but they do not have much flesh. A promising hybrid of it and the ketembilla may eventually prove to be a viable crop in Florida.
Barbados Gooseberry, lemon vine, blade apple, gooseberry shrub (Pereskia aculeata – Family Cactaceae) is the edible fruit of a cactus, grown mainly in the West Indies and Central America. It is not a typical cactus, but rather a leafy climbing shrub. The pear-shaped, small, yellowish or reddish fruits have a thin skin and contain many soft seeds. When ripe, these fruits are juicy, but somewhat tart. They can be eaten raw, but are usually stewed or made into preserves.
(Physalis peruviana – Family Solanacae)
Cape gooseberry, ground cherry, physalis, Chinese lantern, goldenberry, Peruvian cherry
coqueret du Peron (French), Kapstachelbeere/Goldbeere (German), uvilla/membrillo (Spanish), karviaskirsikka/ananaskirsikka (Finnish), rasbari (Hindi), tepari (Bengali), lobolobohan (Philippines), shima hozuki (Japanese), poha (Hawaiian), capuli (Peru/Bolivia), uvilla (Ecuador/Colombia), topotopo/chuchuva (Venezuela), capuli/bolsa de amor (Chile), cereza del Peru (Mexico), golden berry/pompeloes/apelliefie (South Africa), poc-poc (Réunion)
These gooseberries are of the same family as tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes (nightshades); although you would never guess by looking at them.
The small orange-gold berries are encased in a papery beige husk similar to a Chinese lantern or a green tomato.
They have a tart, mildly scented flavour reminiscent of a ripe dessert gooseberry that has a hint of strawberry. The ground cherry is a name applied to various plants, especially that of P. pruinos.
All bear fruits about the size of a cherry in a papery husk and, when preserved in a syrup, have the flavour of figs. A
lthough the genus Physalis is native to South America, Peru, and Chile, it was known to the Greeks as early as the 3rd century CE and introduced to England in the 18th century. They did not become popular until just recently, however.
The early settlers in South Africa cultivated these plants in the Cape of Good Hope area, which contributed to their common name. It has since been introduced to many countries, but is now widely known by the Hawaiian name “poha”, and enthusiastically cultivated and eaten by them.
The fruit is about the size of a cherry, yellow-green or orange, with a thin waxy skin. Its juice contains many small seeds. The flavour is distinctive and pleasant, and can be eaten raw or used like strawberries.
The best way to handle them raw is when the cream-coloured paper husk is peeled back and used as a handle, leaving the berry free to be eaten. They make a good jam, but do not have enough pectin to make a good jelly.
(Phyllanthus acidus/P. distichus or Cicca disticha/C. acida or Averrhoa acida – Family Euphorbiaceae)
Otaheite Gooseberry, gooseberry tree
Chéramélier (French), harpharowri (major Indian languages), hari phal (Bengali), aranelli (Tamil), thin-baw-ni-byu (Burmese), ma yom (Thai), chermai (Malay), cermé (Indonesian), amedamanoki (Japanese), ciruela corteña/manzana estrella (Mexico), cerezo occidental (Cuba), jimbelin (Jamaica)
This is another berry from an entirely different family and one related to the castor bean. Their tart flavour is like that of a gooseberry but there is no other connection to that fruit.
They are one of the few useful fruits in a large genus whose botanical name means “leaf flower”. This refers to the unusual manner in which flowers grow along the edges of the leaf-like branches. Since the flowers develop into fruits, the fruits, too, occupy this odd position.
Their origin is obscure; but they are indigenous to Madagascar and have been cultivated for centuries in southern India and parts of Southeast Asia, notably Sumatra.
The fruit has since spread throughout the Caribbean islands and the mainland of Central America. The name Otaheite seems to indicate a connection to Tahiti, where children enjoyed eating it in the form of sweets called “seurettes”. The tree is a massively abundant bearer of clusters of fruit.
The fruits are ribbed about the size and colour of green grapes, turning a light yellow when ripe. In India, they are sometimes made into pickles or preserves or cooked to make a filling for pies.
