I have heard of gooseberries....but had only had the jam (Crabtree and Evelyn from Great Britain) once. That empty jar has been my button jar for pearl buttons.
So when I found these, next to the blueberries, in our grocery store today, I had to bring some home. I am delighting in how they look, a wonderful light green (so trendy now!LOL!) and sporting little stripes in their translucent skin!
They have very little flavor and are tart, rather like a sour green grape...hmmm no wonder they made jam! They are full of Vitamin C, pectin and flavanoids....so must be good for me and I will eat them....maybe with yogurt and honey....I'm not up for making jam (or a gooseberry pie)!!!!!
Searching the Internet brought up this poem.....[Appelliefie is another term for gooseberry, the word being even more obscure than the fruit?]
Appelliefie
I may eat grapefruit
or apricot
may crisp a strawberry with my eyes
or part secrets of passion fruit
but I cannot remember
the taste of appelliefie ...
Growing wild
it has to be stripped from its skin
-lifted onto a palm -
becoming a dream of transparency.
Whilst the mouth water
to sample its innocence
and lips lisp ecstasy
yes,whilst the tongue awakens
to its memory
it awaits the tired traveller
on a hillside at Ruiterbosch
hiding in abundance
to delight him
who does not seek.
by myra lochner 20.06.2004 [her name is a link!]
[Gooseberries in bowl photo by Lila....gooseberries on a bush from Google "images"]
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These photos were taken (by Mr. Pear!) while watching the Huntsville, AR, hometown rodeo parade which passed through the old downtown and courthouse square this afternoon. [click on photo to enlarge]
Local color and pageantry were visable in abundance and anyone with a mount could join in the end of the parade.....I especially like the green wagon...advertising a logging business. This is still a big industry in the area. The children all pile in, and of course, I notice the girl with bright red hair (Celtic ancestors are common in these hills!).
We strolled and saw a drug store on the town square, which just closed after 110 years and generations of serving the area. Progress marches on. Several former shops are now "flea markets" and or coffee shops. Browsing through the flea market items from an economically depressed part of the world is pretty "ho-hum", unfortunately...sometimes the old farm tools are there, rust and all. I did see some quilt blocks and one booth was selling cotton quilting fabrics (someone's "stash").
On the way home, I finally get a photo (thanks to Mr. Pear) of this old Victorian farmhouse just off the highway....the porch has a "NO TRESPASSING" sign. Now the windows are broken and some of the balcony railing has gone missing. IN spite of the rusty tin roof, there is still a bit of gingerbread trim and plenty of "mystique"...."Is it haunted now?" Perhaps they even had a garden with gooseberry bushes once upon a time......
11 comments:
Ahh! Mayhap they did. We want to believe it anyway. What great segues.
Oh Don't think I've ever had any gooseberries. I love the photo of the old house. What is it about old buildings that seem sacred?
You look cute Mz. Lila in your hat!
:-)
We make gooseberry marmelade every year. It is perfect for filling cream cakes.
[A comment from my mother about gooseberries].. The "place" my parents bought in 1920 had a variety of fruits,etc., which lasted until the 1930's drought. There were gooseberries.
A couple of years ago, we drove over to Shawano, and to a rural Amish store, where I bought some gooseberry jam or preserves, which we sampled. Your niece liked it, and she considered planting some.but her father-in-law said there is something detrimental about their being near other plants--to the plants.
Lila, I just read your blog about gooseberries. I have never heard of anyone eating them plain! If you want to be a true Ozark Arkansas, you must make a gooseberry pie. I never liked it myself, but my mother loves gooseberry pie. The taste is nothing like the raw gooseberry...and it contains a lot of sugar.
I have never eaten a gooseberry and don't think I've ever even seen one except in pictures!
Your flea markets sound like the thrift stores around here....very drab and nothing much exciting to find. Still I enjoy looking just in case.
The very sight of the gooseberries made my mouth pucker... They look so beautiful, yet are so tart. I've had gooseberry pie and it's heavenly...maybe you should try it :-)
never eaten them nor the jam.
umhh???
I've never had gooseberries...they are so pretty and what a cute poem too! I love looking at old houses. I wonderful who lived there? I'll bet it was very beautiful long ago.
~Kelli
I don't think I have ever had gooseberries ~ they don't sound too appetizing!
I love any kind of parade that has horses!
Great hat!!
I don't remember having a gooseberry....I will have to see if I can find some Jam or something so I will know what they are about.
I also like the picture of the old house. I find a empty house sad, I want to know about it's past. Since I live in a old house, it must be just who I am.
Love your blog, Love You, mary
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