Do you love gooseberries and are looking for great ways to use them? Or perhaps you have seen gooseberries in the shop and wondered what to do with them. Look no further I have gathered together the best gooseberry recipes I could find.
This delicious tart fruit had fallen out of favour and a few years ago it was said that the British gooseberry was in danger of disappearing from UK shops altogether, as it emerged that the demand for this soft fruit had reached its lowest level ever.
The gooseberry is one of the first fruits ever cultivated commercially in this country. The first farms began growing the fruit in the 1600s when there were 2,000 different varieties in the UK. In its heyday around the 1900s, they were grown by more than 100 UK farmers.
Now it is just a handful of farms still grow them and now just 20 varieties of gooseberry are grown in this country, and of these, only seven are cultivated by commercial farms.
Luckily I think the gooseberry is beginning to become a bit more popular again. Prized not least for the very fact that it is still very much a seasonal fruit. But it is still pitching for space on the supermarket shelves against the more colourful summer berries like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries that are at their best at the same time.
It would be such a shame to see the disappearance of this flavourful fruit as it can be used to make many delicious dishes.
So to do my bit for this underrated berry I have gathered together some great gooseberry recipes to share with you.
When are Gooseberries In Season
Gooseberries are in season from May through to August but reach their peak in July.
There are two kinds of gooseberries: the tart, cooking variety typically used for crumbles, and the sweet, dessert gooseberry, which can be eaten raw. Early in the season, they are bright green, with a veined effect on the skin, and quite hard and tart - they are best for cooking Later, the softer, sweeter varieties become available.
Choosing and Preparing Gooseberries
When choosing gooseberries to cook with look for slightly underripe - but not too hard - berries. If you want to eat them raw choose berries that yield to the touch.
To prepare them you need to top and tail the gooseberries, do this by pinching off the stem and flowers ends (or use a small pair of scissors to snip them off, then wash well. You can skip this step if you intend to purée and then sieve the gooseberries.
Gooseberries will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Frozen Gooseberries
The season may be short but luckily gooseberries freeze well. Frozen gooseberries can also be used in most recipes in place of fresh.
To freeze, top tail and wash the gooseberries. Drain well and allow to dry. Spread on a baking sheet or tray and open freeze before transferring to a plastic bag of freezer container. Freeze for up to 12 months. Use straight from frozen.
12 Plus Gooseberry Recipes
Gooseberry Cake Recipes
Gooseberry Desserts
Gooseberry Jams and Preserves
Don't miss out on these delicious berries. Try to get hold of some before the short season is over and try one of the recipes above. Look out for them in independent greengrocers, larger supermarkets or Farm shops.
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Cat | Curly's Cooking says
What an informative and delicious post for gooseberry beginners like me!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thanks Cat, Hope you fully fall for the gooseberry charm 😉
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
What a fab collection of gooseberry recipes! They all look amazing - now to stop The Peas eating all the gooseberries before they disappear! Thanks for sharing #CookBlogShare
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Does it really matter so long as they like them let the peas eat gooseberries 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
What a yummy selection, can I have one of everything please?!
Choclette says
Ooh, what a fab post. I love gooseberries and not least because they grow well in our climate (or at least what our climate used to be). We've just taken on an allotment and although the whole thing is mostly covered in brambles and docks, there were a couple of red gooseberry bushes WITH gooseberries on them. So I'v just made a scrummy gooseberry cake - my first in a while.
Thanks for including my gooseberry cakes here, roll on next year I say!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
A new allotment How exciting. I have found the last couple of years gooseberries are a bit small i guess because of the warmer temps and being dryer so i tried to make sure i mine got plenty of water when the fruit was forming this year it helped a bit.
Corina Blum says
I love gooseberries! Thank you so much for including my ice cream - I definitely wish I had some more of it left this week as we are sweltering!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I must try your icecream it looks lush luckily i stocked up on some icecream for this week.
Alison says
I luckily have one gooseberry bush in my garden and managed to get enough for jam this year! I never see them in the shops which is sad. Such a great selection of recipes. Its given me lots of ideas for next years crop!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I agree it is sad that they are not more readily available but great that you grow your own.
Mandy says
Thanks so much for linking to my recipes. I really love gooseberries and I’m so glad that they’re coming back into fashion.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
me too but i still think they need all the help they can get or they will disappear from the shops completely.
Camilla Hawkins says
I never liked gooseberries as a child but now I long to see them and rarely do sadly! Loving all these delicious recipes and could wolf a slice of that pudding down with custard no problem:-)
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I think I say on one of my posts how I didnt like them as a child either but now well I love them and there isn't a recipe in this batch that I wouldn't like to make. It's just a case of which one first.