Gooseberry Fool

You may do well to substitute crème fraîche, reduced and cooled cream, or medium-thick egg custard for the rich cream (which we do not have) specified in this recipe, the best and most basic preparation for this quintessential dish. The recipe was written by E. S. Dallas in Kettnef’s Book of the Table (1877, Centaur Press, reprint, 1968)—so why tamper?

After topping and tailing—that is, taking off clean the two ends of the gooseberries—scald them sufficiently with a very little water till all the fruit breaks. Too much water will spoil them. The water must not be thrown away, being so rich with the finest part of the fruit, that if let to stand till cold it will turn to jelly. When the gooseberries are cold, mash them together. Passing them through a sieve or colander spoils them. [Note: Some berries—but very few—are tough enough to require sieving. Taste and decide for yourself.] The fine flavour which resides in the skin no art can replace.... Sweeten with fine powdered sugar [because of the cornstarch in our present-day equivalent, use extrafine sugar instead], but add not nutmeg or other spice. Mix in at the last moment some rich cream, and it is ready. The young folks of Northamptonshire, after eating as much as they possibly can of this gooseberry fool, are said frequently to roll down a hill and begin eating again.