Cape Gooseberry Goodness

Gooseberries are not something we regularly see in Los Angeles, let alone in America. Gooseberries are a fruit much more popular in England and Europe, but occasionally you may be lucky enough to find some of these jewels in your local grocery store. There are several types of gooseberries, but the ones I was able to find last week were cape gooseberries, (also called pichuberries or physalis).

Creative Commons image of gooseberries and grapes by Muy Yum

While normal gooseberries are green and somewhat translucent, cape gooseberries are bright orange. In the image to the right, the green berries on the left are normal gooseberries, while the orange, tomato-like berries in the middle are cape gooseberries. In fact, cape gooseberries are closely related to the tamatillo and more distantly related to the tomato (Wikipedia).

These are some of the gooseberries I purchased.

Before you eat a cape gooseberry, you must remove the outer husk (called a calyx). The outer husks are shaped like little lanterns; they're actually pretty cute, until they start drying out and curling up as the gooseberry within ripens. Once you remove the husk, you're ready to pop the little orange orbs into your mouth. Cape gooseberries start with a light, sweet flavor, move into a deep sour flavor, and end with a strange tomato aftertaste. They are full of crunchy seeds, so the mouth feel is a little different than that of a grape or other berry. They are seedy like blueberries, but their seeds are a little larger and harder. I will say I do not personally like to eat very many cape gooseberries at once, since they are rather tart. Generally, cape gooseberries (as well as normal gooseberries) are often used in recipes. In Los Angeles, I have only seen gooseberry beer, but when I traveled to England there were gooseberries in lots of different products, from yogurt to cakes.

If you buy some cape gooseberries, I recommend eating a few plain, but you should plan to try using them in some recipes. Try making a cape gooseberry salad with avocado and cucumber, as this blogger describes. Cape gooseberries also make great jams and jam tarts. If you love desserts, try making a super-easy cape gooseberry fool (which is somewhat like fresh whipped cream with fruit in it - fools are very popular in England). For those meat lovers out there, try making a dish combining beef with cape gooseberries.

If you're wondering where to find cape gooseberries, I have had the most luck finding them in Whole Foods stores. These cape gooseberries I found a week ago were located at the Whole Foods at 3rd and Fairfax. I will say, if you live in Los Angeles and like unique fruits, the Whole Foods at 3rd and Fairfax regularly has some interesting finds. I don't live near that store, but I do try to stop by whenever I'm in the area.

Good luck on your hunt for cape gooseberries!