Gooseberry

Gooseberry varieties differ enormously. The berries run from fuzzy-prickly to satin-smooth, from translucent to opaque, from white through shades of green to deep purple, from the size of a blueberry to that of a cherry tomato, from mouth-puckering to lightly sweet. Most common in American markets are the small- to medium-sized celery-green summer berry and the very large, striated yellow-green to purplish winter berry. All are taut-skinned, tendril-tipped—and exceptionally beautiful.

Given the English passion for these crisp, highly acid berries, it is curious that they have become so rare. A staple in the American larder from colonial days, when gooseberry wine, vinegar, pie, pudding, fools, and preserves were standard fare, the berry had virtually disappeared from cookbooks by the nineteenth century.