Gooseberry glut!

Thanks for all your suggestions. Carerof123, we always net our bushes when they flower otherwise the birds eat the tiny berries. I've finished picking the regular berries, just waiting for the dessert ones to finish ripening.

We have made a gooseberry dessert wine that was very nice, but I actually don't like to eat gooseberries. DH said he would like a couple of bushes but I have told him that we don't have room for them! I hope no-one disabuses him of that. We had a lot of strawberries this year (and I already have a freezer full from last season) but the flavour is not very good, so I have dug up all the plants and will put in another variety next year.

Gooseberry jam, Gooseberry fool are lovely, goose berry tart. I havent tried a goosberry chutney yet.
Offer them to your local WI ?

My plants have not done very well this year probably because I have not pruned then regularly. They do not fruit well on "old wood".

Jalima you sound just like my sister in law who has a freezer full of home grown fruit going back years.

I once got very drunk on some lovely gooseberry wine at an NWR summer party. As my daughter still keeps reminding me I forgot to pick her up from guides and the guide leader had to take her home.

Gooseberry cordial, gooseberry crumble cake maybe, Delia does a good recipe.

This is the second year for my two bushes and I have picked just under 2 lbs. they are destined for crumbles, only two of us so should make two small ones.

Wow how lucky are you!!! I have one gooseberry bush and it is three years old but i have not had one single berry on it in all that time, what is your secret?? On the other hand my raspberry canes have been loaded with berries this year, so many in fact that i have had to freeze them as we can not eat them quickly enough despite giving to friends and neighbours.

I'll have some! Last year I had a huge crop and we ate gooseberry pie, gooseberry crumble and gooseberry fool all winter. This year, I will, if I am lucky, get a pound or two of gooseberries when I pick them next week.

It is the same for blackcurrants; last year a glut, this year zilch, or nearly zilch.

X gooseberry wine using a champagne yeast. Exquisite.

That sounds nice

We like gooseberry fool too

Sludgy!

Gooseberry ice cream
It comes out rather slushy colour so some green colouring helps!

Grannylyn if you were nearer you would be welcome to have some gooseberries!

I have made gooseberry jam and gooseberry jelly, both very nice, but still have some left from last year.
I also have gooseberries in the freezer from last year, the year before and the year before that .....
as well as this year's.

The WI or BBC usually have some good recipes online, I can't remember now which recipe I used.

If you have room to freeze them you could make small batches of microwave jam or jelly as required throughout the winter.

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