What to remove from a gooseberry?
Ripe gooseberries usually have a smooth, more or less thick skin. At one end there is still a rest of the fruit stalk after picking. At the other end hangs the dried rest of the flower. Both do not dissolve even after prolonged cooking and would noticeably reduce the pleasure as jam or cake topping. That’s why the rather time-consuming cleaning is a matter of honour for the quality-conscious housewife. That’s how it goes:
- wash fresh gooseberries in lukewarm water
- click off the stems and brown appendages with your fingernails
- alternatively cut off with a small pair of scissors
Smart housewives put the gooseberries in the potato peeling machine and let them clean.
effectively prevent bursting gooseberries
The cleaning of gooseberries is the best opportunity to prevent bursting fruits with a simple additional handle. This applies to berries that are boiled down or frozen and are therefore subject to temperature fluctuations. Each gooseberry is pierced with a thin needle so that the pressure can escape later.
This trick also works with berries that are placed in the oven as cake toppings. The effort is worth it, because the eye always eats with gooseberries, too.
Do not clean too early
Gooseberries do not have a long shelf life after harvesting. They remain fresh uncleaned in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. This shelf life is dramatically shortened if the fruit is first cleaned and then stored. In this case, they already make after 2 days in the vegetable compartment floppy. Therefore, always clean gooseberries immediately before eating or preparing them.
Tips & Tricks
Do the gooseberry bushes hang full of berries and threaten to collapse under the load? Then harvest a portion of the half ripe fruit without further ado. They are excellent for boil down. The remaining gooseberries remain on the bush to be eaten fully ripe and fresh.
