Cape Gooseberries, Husk Cherries and Strawberries, a fruity post.

A while back a friend of ours had a fruiting plant in her yard we had never heard of. Of course we were very curious, she plucked a funny paper lantern from the plant. She removed the paper to reveal a small orange yellow fruit that resembled a small cherry tomato. I tasted it and immediately fell in love with that cape gooseberry. We took some cuttings and after a few failed attempts we had our very own huge vine growing in the corner of the backyard.

When I describe this strange fruit, I liken it to a tomatillo that married a cherry tomato.

The flowers give it away as a nightshade.

To harvest them, you wait until they are ready to fall off the plant. I collected this bowl of them the other day.

I have used them in salads, mostly I just eat them out of hand. I did make a jam, it was surprising to find some many recipes on line for cape gooseberry jam. It was seedy but fun.

I made another rendition with cinnamon, clove and allspice which I strained. That one was amazing, it was patterned after a cherry tomato condiment I tasted at Green's.

We have never seen cape gooseberries for sale...until last Sunday. We were at the Live Oak farmer's market where we saw something that looked just like our funny fruit except they were smaller. The sign called them husk cherries or golden-berries and claimed they tasted tropical. We were offered a taste...that sold us.

In this photo the new fruit is on the right, smaller and lighter in color. THE FLAVOR IS AMAZING!!
It is quite different from our cape gooseberry, tropical is a good description.

You locals can buy these great treats at the Lonely Mountain stand at the farmer's market!!

Now for a rant about strawberries.

Strawberries grow in abundance in our area, the plants last for about two years and then must be replaced. As with other fruit, growers often choose varieties more for the ease of growing and shipping than for the flavor. We have noticed this to be true even with our local farmer's market berries.

As strawberry connoisseurs we prefer the Seascape and Chandler varieties for their flavor and soft texture. The current Albions grown by a lot of farmers are tougher and less flavorful. Locally you can get Seascapes at Windmill Farms at the farmer's markets. I have heard rumors that Swanton has Chandlers, we will check it out.

When you go to buy strawberries at your local farmer's market or store ask about the variety and let them know which ones you prefer.