Gooseberries
JENNIE GRAVETT
Posts: 10
in Fruit & veg
I do not know the variety of Gooseberry that we have. However loaded in fruit for the first time this year. Bush estimated two to three years old.
When do I pick the fruit? The berries are still quite hard but large. Could it be that they do not get any softer as this is the variety.
0
Posts
Gooseberries freeze very well Jennie.
Have you thinned the fruit? If not now is the time to do it - pick every other gooseberry, reducing the crop by half. These are not ripe, but are fine for cooking - jam, pies etc. The remaining gooseberries will ripen in July and will be sweeter and softer (fingers crossed). Give the bushes a good watering to enable the fruit to swell. Keep the blackbirds away and keep your fingers crossed for sunshine
The addition of elderflower to a gooseberry dish (either flowers or cordial) is delicious. There are lots of recipes online.
The best wine I ever made was gooseberry. It tasted exactly like a normal white wine with no hint of the taste of gooseberries. Two gallons from one (very large) bush!
As Dovefromabove say's you can pick half now and have a further picking in July which will be better tasting.
I started picking gooseberries a couple of weeks ago, with the intension of picking half and picked sufficient for a couple of pies. Some of the one's which didn't look large enough to pick, are now, and will probably pick more this week, my plan is to eat fresh and not have a glut come July.
I really like the sound of gooseberry wine BobThe Gardner & Verdun. Do you have the recipe? I still have gooseberries in the freezer from last year, so wouldn't mind having a go at that. Cheers!
I was just going to look for my trusty old book "The Boots Book of Home Wine Making and Brewing" which tells you everything you need to know about winemaking in an easy to follow way, but a quick google gound this which even tells you to freeze them first to help release the juice, so you are already part way there!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/allotment/2011/jun/09/allotments-gardens
I have an invicta gooseberry bush on the allotment and was wondering whether to pick now as fruits hard but looking ready , can I make wine with these and pick some now ?