Alan Davidson

Gooseberry

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

gooseberry the fruit of bushes of several species of the genus Ribes, of which R. grossularia, the European gooseberry, is the principal cultivated species. Gooseberry bushes grow wild in most of the northern temperate zone, flourishing in cool, moist, or high regions where many other fruiting plants do not thrive.

Most wild species are thorny. The berries are 12 mm (0.5") or more in diameter, dark or pale green (the latter often called ‘white’), yellow, or red, with firm skins which may be either hairy or smooth. The flavour is often sour.