Gooseberry pickin’ on this high summer day. Not yet to August but you can see the shift in light, and, I see the flame bushes already have a tinge of rose-promise-of-red coming.
These berries are related to currants. Tart, in appearance sort of like small transparent veiny round grapes and with similar seeds, they can be picked when green or purple—when purple they are often already past their prime—and a mix of both, I think, is best for preserving. Their thorns are not for the faint of heart: closer to rose than rasberry for sure. My hands show the afternoon’s work.
From Amy Clampitt’s “Gooseberry Fool”
The gooseberry’s no doubt an oddity,
an outlaw or pariah even—thorny
and tart as any
kindergarten martinet, it can harbor
like a fernseed, on its leaves’ under-
side, bad news for pine trees,
whereas the spruce
resists the blister rust
it’s host to. That veiny Chinese
lantern, its stolid jelly
of a fruit, not only has
no aroma but is twice as tedious
as the wild strawberry’s sunburst
stem-end appendage: each one must
be between-nail-snipped at both extremities.
Read the entire poem here.
Next up to bat at les collines, looks like gooseberry jelly high steppin’ to the plate.
[…] to prove it!! In the currant family, gooseberries look like tiny Japanese lanterns (see a photo here). Their tartness is a perfect foil for shortcrust tarts and pairs beautifully with any nut butter. […]