Treat Yourself and Refresh Your Body with the Old, Familiar Gooseberry

Gooseberries are a fruit that all of us certainly know, but did you know how many vitamins they contain and what delicious treats you can make from them?



Gooseberry originally comes from Asia, Europe and America, where it grew as a wild shrub.
In the 15th century, the first cultivated varieties with larger fruits and disease resistance began to be grown in France and England, later spreading throughout Europe.

Gooseberry arrived in our regions sometime in the 19th century, where the tree form of gooseberry was developed, and today some of our varieties rank among the absolute best.


In this article you will find: cultivation, diseases and pests, resistant varieties, medicinal effects, gooseberry in the kitchen

Cultivation

Gooseberries thrive best in a semi-shaded location protected from wind, they prefer medium-heavy, humus-rich and nutritious soil with sufficient irrigation.

Planting is done in autumn or spring, however autumn planting is more suitable because the seedlings have time to partially root before frost arrives and in spring they can better utilise moisture from the winter period, which promotes more abundant growth in the first year.

If you plant gooseberries in spring, make sure the seedlings don't suffer from drought and provide them with regular watering. Since this plant is self-pollinating, it's advisable to always plant several bushes next to each other, ensuring a larger harvest.

Place a firm support next to tree forms, which should reach up to the crown height. Every spring it's advisable to carry out rejuvenation pruning, removing old shoots and leaving only young ones. In autumn, gooseberries need to be mulched with compost to prevent deep soil freezing.

Diseases and Pests

The most feared disease affecting these plants is American mildew. Therefore, both defence and prevention are important. Regular removal of fallen leaves and burning infected branches is essential, Bioton product can also be helpful.

There are also resistant varieties available that are very resistant to mildew. Another disease that can affect gooseberries is grey mould.

It begins to manifest on leaf tips and gradually the brown spots spread to entire leaves. Leaves then wither and fall off. Here it's recommended to remove all affected parts of the plant and use Acrobat product.

Mildew-Resistant Varieties

  • Rolonda – produces red to purple berries with a tart taste, the crown is medium dense, has a spherical shape and thin, long shoots
  • Rokula – this variety has a large, regular harvest, its fruits are red in color and also have a tart taste
  • Remarka – the fruits of this gooseberry are sweet and sour with a dark red color, the crown is medium dense, spherical in shape, this is a high-yielding variety
  • Rixanta – this early variety produces large, yellow or yellow-green fruits with a sweet taste, it bears fruit regularly and abundantly
  • Invicta – an early variety whose fruits are medium-sized with a yellow-green color and sweet taste, the harvest comes regularly and with high yields, ripens in early July
  • Karmen – this is a Czech, very high-quality, mid-early variety with sweetish fruits that ripen during July
  • Captivator – a gooseberry with red fruits that ripen in mid-July, it is very resistant to American mildew and has no thorns
  • Hinnonmaki Green – the fruits are green and ripen at the beginning of July, it is also very resistant to mildew
  • Hinnonmaki Red – red, medium-sized fruits ripen in early July, it is very resistant to American mildew
  • Prima – regularly produces many large berries of yellow-green color, this is a mid-early variety resistant to anthracnose and mildew
  • Black Negus – this variety originates from Russia, has black-colored fruits ripening in July

Health Benefits of Gooseberry

Thanks to its high content of vitamin C, gooseberry is an excellent natural antioxidant. It helps us with constipation and arthritis, supports digestion and uplifts mood.
Vitamin D provides prevention against vascular diseases and unsaturated fatty acids contained in the skin help support proper heart function.

Use the Delicious Taste of Gooseberry in the Kitchen

You can also make a beautifying scrub from gooseberries, using just the pulp itself.


Sweet berries have many uses in the kitchen, they can be used for jam, jelly, compote, juice, or directly in pastries. Moreover, they can be eaten by both adults and children from one year old.

You can use not only the fruits, but also gooseberry leaves, when dried they are suitable for preparing a delicious, calming tea.


Gooseberry Cake

  • 380 g plain flour
  • 300 g granulated sugar
  • 250 g butter
  • 200 g gooseberries
  • 125 ml sour cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons plain flour (for coating the gooseberries)
  • 1 baking powder
  • Fat and plain flour for greasing the baking tray

Beat the butter, which we've left out of the fridge for a while, with egg yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add the sour cream and half of the flour with baking powder to the resulting mixture and stir gently. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them together with the remaining flour gently into the yolk mixture.

Spread the dough on a greased baking tray and add the gooseberries on top, which we've coated in flour. Bake in a preheated oven at approximately 180°C for 40 minutes. The cake can be served dusted with sugar as a wonderful dessert.


Gooseberry Compote

  • 400 g sugar
  • 1 kg gooseberries
  • 1 l water

Do you have your own recipe? Share it with us.


Place cleaned gooseberries into preserving jars and fill the remaining space with sugar syrup. Seal the jars carefully and sterilize for 20 to 30 minutes at 85°C.

Bon appétit!

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