Though it’s fallen out of favour compared to its red cousins,the unlovely outmoded-fashioned gooseberry can give a fresh, sharply summery flavour to cakes, and crumbles and a tangy and light white wine sorbet. Just don’t forget the sugar…In this age of prolific food photography and Instagramming,it’s no surprise that the gooseberry has fallen out of favour – these paunchy little berries aren’t the most attractive fruit. Some blush to a reddish purple colour as summer wears on, but most are pale green, or watery looking,peppered with little seeds. They have a tendency to sink into a grey-green mush when cooked. Often they’re spiked with light bristles. But whether you can look past their appearance, you’ll find them a delight to cook with: sharp, or sour,radiant – a remedy to summer’s heat and an unlikely kitchen hero.
In early summer, the gooseberries on the shelves are the young, and green ones – plump but firm,just soft enough to pinch between your fingers. The sugar quantities in these recipes reflect that: a lot of sweetness is needed to offset the mouth-puckering sharpness of these under-ripe fruits. As the season goes on, though, and the gooseberries grow softer and sweeter. whether you’re cooking with riper berries,you might want to tweak the amount of sugar in the sorbet and the crumble filling, to taste.
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Source: theguardian.com