Gooseberries

Freshly picked gooseberries

Gooseberries are a spikey, hard and tart fruit which is transformed by sugar into delights such as gooseberry crumble, gooseberry pie, gooseberry jam and puree, which is delicious served as a sauce on ice cream.

Dessert gooseberries are a recent addition to the farm. The purple-red fruit is quite sweet – proving to be a popular newcomer.

The traditional method of growing gooseberries as a bush is used with some of the crop. We have also introduced a trellis system to train some gooseberry bushes on wires. This growing-method exposes the fruit making it easier to pick.

Dessert gooseberries are sweeter than their green cousins

Varieties

  • Invicta is grown on wires for easier picking
  • Careless is traditional green variety, which tend to last longest
  • Pax is the red dessert gooseberry; it has no thorns and fruits latest of all the gooseberries.

Top tips for gooseberry picking

  • To ensure you can enjoy the best quality fruit, check out our advice on picking and storage.
  • Gloves give protection from thorns, and a kneeling-pad helps picking from the lower branches.
  • Unlike other berries, gooseberries are not spoilt by washing in cold water.
  • Gooseberries freeze well. ‘Topping and tailing’ fruit is not necessary, but many people prefer to.