Published: · Modified: by Jacqueline Bellefontaine ·
Do you love gooseberries and are looking for great ways to use them? Or perhaps you have seen gooseberries in the shop and wondered what to do with them. Look no further I have gathered together the best gooseberry recipes I could find.
This delicious tart fruit had fallen out of favour and a few years ago it was said that the British gooseberry was in danger of disappearing from UK shops altogether, as it emerged that the demand for this soft fruit had reached its lowest level ever.
The gooseberry is one of the first fruits ever cultivated commercially in this country. The first farms began growing the fruit in the 1600s when there were 2,000 different varieties in the UK. In its heyday around the 1900s, they were grown by more than 100 UK farmers.
Now it is just a handful of farms still grow them and now just 20 varieties of gooseberry are grown in this country, and of these, only seven are cultivated by commercial farms.
Luckily I think the gooseberry is beginning to become a bit more popular again. Prized not least for the very fact that it is still very much a seasonal fruit. But it is still pitching for space on the supermarket shelves against the more colourful summer berries like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries that are at their best at the same time.
It would be such a shame to see the disappearance of this flavourful fruit as it can be used to make many delicious dishes.
So to do my bit for this underrated berry I have gathered together some great gooseberry recipes to share with you.
When are Gooseberries In Season
Gooseberries are in season from May through to August but reach their peak in July.
There are two kinds of gooseberries:the tart, cooking variety typically used for crumbles,and the sweet, dessert gooseberry, which can be eaten raw. Early in the season, they are bright green, with a veined effect on the skin, and quite hard and tart - they are best for cooking Later, the softer, sweeter varieties become available.
Choosing and Preparing Gooseberries
When choosing gooseberries to cook with look for slightly underripe - but not too hard - berries. If you want to eat them raw choose berries that yield to the touch.
To prepare them you need to top and tail the gooseberries, do this by pinching off the stem and flowers ends (or use a small pair of scissors to snip them off, then wash well. You can skip this step if you intend to purée and then sieve the gooseberries.
Gooseberries will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Frozen Gooseberries
The season may be short but luckily gooseberries freeze well. Frozen gooseberries can also be used in most recipes in place of fresh.
To freeze, top tail and wash the gooseberries. Drain well and allow to dry. Spread on a baking sheet or tray and open freeze before transferring to a plastic bag of freezer container. Freeze for up to 12 months. Use straight from frozen.
12 Plus Gooseberry Recipes
Gooseberry Cake Recipes
Gooseberry Crumble Muffins
Juicy roasted gooseberries in a soft muffin topped with crumble
Recipe
Gooseberry and Coconut Cake
I love the look of thisGooseberry and Coconut CakefromDragons and Fairy Dust.The moist coconut works well with the tart gooseberries and a sprinkle of flaked almonds is the perfect finishing touch for the cake.
Red Gooseberry Cakes
Gooseberries make a great addition to cakes and these littleRed Gooseberry CakesfromTin and Thymecontain a single red gooseberry in the centre.
Gooseberry Upside Down Crumble Bars
TheseUpside Down Gooseberry Crumble BarsfromSneaky VegPacked with oats and nuts for energy and nutrition and refined sugar-free.
Gooseberry Desserts
Gooseberry Fool
Gooseberry foolis a classic English dessert, really easy to make and full of zingy fruit flavour. This Gooseberry Fool recipe is from my sister blogRecipes Made Easy. An optional splash of gin adds a little decadence which will have gin lovers coming back for more.
Gooseberry Eve's Pudding
ThisGooseberry Eve'sPuddingfromRecipes Made Easyis a twist on the classic Eve's pudding more usually made with apples.
Gooseberry Tart
This easy to make open formedGooseberry TartfromRecipes Made Easyis simple to make. You don't need any special tins to make this tart, simply roll a large circle of pastry and fold over the edges to form the edges.
Gooseberry Ice Cream
As I write this post in my office while we are in the middle of a heatwave and its 30+℃ (86+°F) outside I can not begin to describe how tempting and delicious thisGooseberry Ice CreamfromSearching for Spicelooks and I can only imagine how good it would taste if I had some right now.
Slowcooker steamed Gooseberry Pudding
Searching for Spicehas also solved the problem of cooking a steamed pudding in the summer without filling the kitchen with extra heat and steam. Use a slow Cooker! Now you can enjoy thisSteamed Gooseberry Pudding.
Gooseberry Gin Jelly
For the big kids amongst us, what more could we want? I'm totally sold on theseGin and Gooseberry JelliesfromFamily Friends Food, you could go one step further and top them with gooseberry icecream. Made with Agar flakes they are suitable for Vegans and vegetarians.
Baked Gooseberry Elderflower Custards
Also fromFamily, Friends Foodare these littleBaked gooseberry and elderflower custardswhich would make a lovely light finish to a summer meal.
Vegan Gooseberry Crumble
Gooseberries make a particularly fine crumble, the tart fruit contrasting perfectly with the sweet crumble toppingVeggielicioushave thisVegan gooseberry crumblewith an almond topping.
Gooseberry Jams and Preserves
Easy Gooseberry Jam
Gooseberry jam is a great jam for beginners to make. Being naturally high in pectin it is really easy to get a good set.
The finished jam not only keeps well it tastes delicious and I find even those who claim to dislike gooseberries love the jam.
Recipe: Recipes Made Easy
Easy Gooseberry Chutney
This easy gooseberry chutney recipe lives up to its name as it is really simple to make. Delicious with cold meats and cheeses.
The preserve will keep for up to 12 months but truth be told unless you make several batches it will have been eaten long before then because it is delicious!
Gooseberry Apple Mint Jelly
Fab Food for Allhas thisGooseberry Apple and Mint Jellyrecipe. The beauty of this jelly is its jewel-like clarity and the suspended chopped mint. Camilla gives hints on how to achieve this so yours will look and taste just as good. Try it next time you have roast lamb (It's also rather good with Cheddar cheese!)
Don't miss out on these delicious berries. Try to get hold of some before the short season is over and try one of the recipes above. Look out for them in independent greengrocers, larger supermarkets or Farm shops.
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About Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Jacqueline is a member of the Guild of Food Writers and has been a cookery writer and food stylist for over 25 years. She has written over 15 cookery books, in addition to writing for several major magazines. She likes to champion good basic home cooking and as the daughter of a master baker, she is passionate about home baking.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Cat | Curly's Cooking
What an informative and delicious post for gooseberry beginners like me!
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Thanks Cat, Hope you fully fall for the gooseberry charm 😉
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Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery
What a fab collection of gooseberry recipes! They all look amazing - now to stop The Peas eating all the gooseberries before they disappear! Thanks for sharing #CookBlogShare
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Does it really matter so long as they like them let the peas eat gooseberries 🙂
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Kat (The Baking Explorer)
What a yummy selection, can I have one of everything please?!
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Choclette
Ooh, what a fab post. I love gooseberries and not least because they grow well in our climate (or at least what our climate used to be). We've just taken on an allotment and although the whole thing is mostly covered in brambles and docks, there were a couple of red gooseberry bushes WITH gooseberries on them. So I'v just made a scrummy gooseberry cake - my first in a while.
Thanks for including my gooseberry cakes here, roll on next year I say!
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
A new allotment How exciting. I have found the last couple of years gooseberries are a bit small i guess because of the warmer temps and being dryer so i tried to make sure i mine got plenty of water when the fruit was forming this year it helped a bit.
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Corina Blum
I love gooseberries! Thank you so much for including my ice cream - I definitely wish I had some more of it left this week as we are sweltering!
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I must try your icecream it looks lush luckily i stocked up on some icecream for this week.
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Alison
I luckily have one gooseberry bush in my garden and managed to get enough for jam this year! I never see them in the shops which is sad. Such a great selection of recipes. Its given me lots of ideas for next years crop!
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I agree it is sad that they are not more readily available but great that you grow your own.
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Mandy
Thanks so much for linking to my recipes. I really love gooseberries and I’m so glad that they’re coming back into fashion.
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
me too but i still think they need all the help they can get or they will disappear from the shops completely.
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Camilla Hawkins
I never liked gooseberries as a child but now I long to see them and rarely do sadly! Loving all these delicious recipes and could wolf a slice of that pudding down with custard no problem:-)
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Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I think I say on one of my posts how I didnt like them as a child either but now well I love them and there isn't a recipe in this batch that I wouldn't like to make. It's just a case of which one first.
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