Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Big fat juicy gooseberries
When I was a kid my ma used to buy big fat juicy gooseberries from the greengrocer's. You'd bite the end off and suck out the sweet insides. Yummy! I don't see them any more. Does anyone know where I can get any?
Tags for Forum Posts: Harringay Fruit, crouch end, gooseberries
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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While your at it does anyone know how to keep Parsley bought from the grocer fresh ? it always goes off after couple days after i get it home. I've even tried keeping it in water in the fridge, like cut flowers.
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Wrap it quite tightly in kitchen roll, then put in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. Keeps for ages. It works for most other herbs too - mint, basil, coriander etc.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Very, very occasionally they have them at Sainsbury's for a few weeks - often knodked down in price because no-one seems to know what they are or how to cook them. Gooseberry crumble is my absolute favourite pudding, that delicious mix of sour and sweet. Blackcurrants are another fruit you hardly ever see, except in jam and Ribeana form.
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Permalink Reply by Lesley Ramm on
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I don't think supermarkets sell them. i looked last year and never saw any. perhaps a decent old fashioned greengrocers? or farmers market. i used to love gooseberries.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Ooooh a gooseberry fanclub. Count me in. I love those "eating gooseberries" and gooseberry crumble wow, now you're teasing me Maddy!
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what about the parsley ?
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The last bunch I divided in two and kept half in the fridge in a plastic bag and half in the freezer - the fridge half kept for about a week before the ends went brown, the freezer half I have yet to use, but I think it will be fine for cooking with - my sister does it all the time, and also with coriander.
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Permalink Reply by Mr Growbag on
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Gooseberries are also one of my favourite fruits. I imagine part of the reason for the lack of availability will be the difficulty of production - in particular harvesting - speaking as someone who spent some of yesterday fighting with his gooseberry bush.
If you've got some outdoor space I recommend growing your own. I put one in the ground around two years ago now, and have just harvested the first fruit. They don't really need watering, or much care at all if you want the traditional sprawling bush (other than a cursory prune in autumn). It is also possible to train them up trellises, into fans, cordons or standards if you have the energy - and this is apparently the most efficient way of maximum yield to minimum space.
I was thinking about another recent thread encouraging people to grow hedges. I bet the the right variety of gooseberry bush would make a pretty nifty front hedge - certainly thorny enough, and with the benefit of a crop every year! There are a couple of mentions of people doing this on various gardening blogs, so it sounds like it's possible.
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It's also very easy to 'chop' when frozen - just crush it with a rolling pin before it thaws.
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Permalink Reply by Caroline on
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Wash it as soon as you get home. Shake off the excess water and then wrap the whole bunch in about four sheets of kitchen paper. The peper should be damp but not wet. Put the whole bunch paper and all into a plastic bag and keep in the fridge. Parsely and coriander will keep in perfect condition for 2 weeks, mint for about a week.
Gooseberries are very easy to grow. You get cut to ribbons picking the fruit but this seems a small price to pay. We have three bushes including a red variety which is far less sharp but absolutely delicious and makes the most beautiful barbie pink gooseberry fool.
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Can supply plain leaved parsley seeds a bit later, which will grow into a haze of parsley.
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Can I join the gooseberry appreciation club please? Used to make myself ill eating them from our back garden as a child, ahhh happy days. Totally agree that gooseberry crumble is the best pud, especially with lashings of double cream (I sound like an Enid Blyton character).
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