Gooseberries

Today at the shop... I am grateful to Roger from The Radish in Marsden for asking me to bring gooseberries from the market run. I almost dismissed the possibility due to it being too early in the season, however Total Produce (always my best bet for English tomatoes) had the very first arrivals onto the market.

Like other berries and rhubarb, the climate in Yorkshire is good for gooseberries and ours are growing pretty well so far. The biggest threat is mildew, brought in from America in 1905 which wiped out the whole European crop. Nowadays there are varieties that are resistant - ours are mostly Invicta which seem to do OK without spraying.

If you're a serious gooseberry-grower, you might consider visiting the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Show near Whitby. This year it's on Tuesday 3rd August. These guys don't mess about, they've been at it since 1800 and last year Mr Bryan Nellist grew a record-breaking Woodpecker berry weighing in at 2.19oz (or 62g in new money). That's amazing - I just weighed an egg from the fridge and it weighs only 2oz (less than 60g)!  Read more about this traditional English event at www.egtongooseberryshow.org.uk/index.htm

Gooseberry fool and gooseberry crumble are obvious delights to try, but traditionally gooseberries are also eaten with mackerel. And in our house, some are always frozen to have with goose at Christmas.

If you have grown gooseberries to spare, please contact us and arrange a good time to bring them in for us to sell for you. We'd love to have them from 'down the road' rather than elsewhere.

Invicta gooseberries at Wellhouse (2009)