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Seasonal observations of the UCCE Master Gardeners
Flowers
Comments:
by Launa Herrmann
on August 28, 2018 at 2:27 PM
Awe, Betty, enjoyed the post. I remember fondly my first forkful of Gooseberry Pie as a young girl "at Grandma's house." You're so right it's an acquired taste, and was a familiar delicacy for mid-west farm families who savored each wild berry they picked for those pies. They had plenty of thorn scratches on their arms to show for their efforts. Of course, I think they probably dumped a pound of sugar into each pie.
by Lynn Starrs
on January 19, 2019 at 4:32 AM
I have a question and a comment. I have a monster of a physalis peruviana in my yard. Do I prune it? My comment is in response to the gooseberry pie comment. That is a different plant entirely. The gooseberry you are thinking of is often native and thorny, and produces very small fruit (Ribes spp.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribes_roezlii. The Cape gooseberry is more like a tomatillo in flavor and looks (but much sweeter). It would make a savory pie, like a pot pie. It has no thorns. The name "cape gooseberry" is confusing to those of us in gooseberry regions. Another name is "ground cherry," and I like it a lot better. Still want to know if I should prune it!
by Paula
on March 17, 2020 at 9:40 PM
Lynne, I was with you until you stated they had a flavor like a tomatillo and would make a savory pie. I've never had a cape gooseberry that tasted anything like a tomatillo. Granted, I have never had a RIPE tomatillo; they've all been cooked into a sauce while still green. But I've had green cape gooseberries and they didn't taste like a green tomatillo. As for a savory pie, that just sounds bad! They're very sweet, they just have an accompanying taste of also being tart. So now I have to wonder what fruit YOU'RE referring to.
 
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