My Mom used to make gooseberry jam. Sugar, pectin, and Bob's your uncle. Also, us kids used to chuck 'em at each other.
Make Fes eat 'em! Mixed with blueberries!
You could pile huge numbers of them into your hall closet, and then when someone is about to open it, you get all agitated and shout, "Don't open that! It's full of gooseberries!"
Gooseberry jam is purdy good. Gives me the goosebumps thinking about it.
My mom used to mix them with other berries in pies. So like half gooseberries, half raspberries or something.
They're actually pretty good in stuff.
Give them all permanent work visas and let them apply for full citizenship.
So like half gooseberries, half raspberries or something.
So... graspberries.
I have a whole whack of mulberries piling up at my house if anybody wants them.
Stoopid roaming cats have chased away all the squirrels and birds, so now I have a driveway covered in rotting jam. Fuckers.
So like half gooseberries, half raspberries or something.
So... graspberries.
No, roosleberries.
Nickdanger, remind me to invite you to my next soiree. You sound like my kinda person.
*loads hall closet with fruit, awaits prey*
BERRY FIGHT!!!
Seriously, find some goths. Feed them gothberry pie. They'll be happy emo. Good stuff.
No, wait, seriously. Try all the above recipes, make gooseberry syrup for waffles,* and let the critters have their share.
*syrup same as jam, if the jam doesn't get thick ;)
How do you rate this year? Normally, my gooseberry bush goes crazy, but this year it's about 1/3 on the production, and the berries aren't as plump and fat as usual.
I lubs me some gooseburry pie. Oh, yeah...
PHHHHHHHUTT!!
I've never had a gooseberry in my life. I don't have the foggiest idea about these types of things. Questions about bricklaying, boatbuilding or Wyoming - I haven't a clue. Why do people keep asking about these types of things? What is the point of these gooberry questions?
My first guess would be to percolate them. Or maybe jiggle them a little.
My backyard's black raspberries are also a bumper crop this year. But I already know what to do with them.
Definitely jam.
Our local summer fruit crop was damn near obliterated by a late frost this spring. To get peaches we've had to resort to going to...Mississippi.
*shudder*
My gooseberries never make it from the bush to the house. My mouth gets in the way.
I hear from reliable sources who actually don't eat their gooseberries right away that gooseberry fool is the way to go.
To get peaches we've had to resort to going to...Mississippi.
What are you going to do with the legs?
MCT, I used to buy peaches in Alabama. The fruit stands were all exact change only. The math was too complex.
Thank God for Mississippi. They're the only thing that keeps Arkansas ranked 49th in everything good and 2nd in everything sucky.
Jam. AFAIK, they have enough pectin in them to make adding the stuff unnecessary.
Bluehorse - Apart from random meterological factors influencing your goosebery crop, there could be another explanation.
Like many other fruitbearing shrubs gooseberry bushes have to be "rejuvenated" once in a while - every 3rd year or so.
The rejuvenation simply consists in removing the old branches in the center of the bush (its the very devil of a job - gooseberry bushes have thorns!) at ground level. When the old branches are removed, the bush will sprout new shoots that will be much more willing to bear fruit than the old wizened ones.
As for uses for gooseberries: Simple! Let the geese eat them!
Put 'em in a big jar and give out a prize for guessing how many are in there.
Prize = big jar of gooseberries.
Greybeard:
Interesting. We've never done anything to cultivate this bushshrubthicket mini-wilderness we call a bush, and for twenty+ years it's given scads of pucker fruit. It sits in an area covered in cinder rock on the west side of the house where the heat reflects, and it never gets watered. The berries are sour, juicy, and normally plentiful. I guess we'll see next year if it was a climate-flukey thing or if it's maxed itself out. Although the only ones really bugged this year are the birds--we've had our fair share off already.
So... er... what's Mrs. dotcom's first name? If you don't mind my asking...
Nancy, while you're asking, it's a nice name, I like it a lot and so does she ...
I know a lot of Nancys. All nice ladies.
And when is she going to mail us all our crumbles?
Oh.
/deflated
Actually our recent crumble was a collaborative exercise, she did the fruit, I did the crumble ... I always favour substituting some of the flour with oats which makes it a more crumbly crumble ... and brown sugar is much much better than white ...
Why are you deflated nickdanger???
Nick's let himself down.
I was hoping that the answer would be dirty.
Cuz... you know... *you're* "dickdotcom", therefore she must be... er...
Nancy.
*pelts Nick with rotten gooseburries
Mmm, kollaborative krispy krumble...
I think Nancy's a wonderful name.
posted by vaginadotcom at 07:06PM UTC on July 02, 2007
Agreed.
I kinda vaguely thought that might be the reason but I hoped and I hoped and I hoped that it wasn't ...
Sigh ...
Maybe I'll call her vaginadotcom and see what happens. I don't think I'll get divorced ...
Have her put anything that could be construed as a weapon down, and step away.
Then, when you say it, point to Nick.
Yeah! Tell her that your invisible friend on the internet MADE you call her "vaginadotcom"! That'll smooth everything over!
If I give you Nick's address, she can send the police 'round.
...Cockney rhyming slang.
Hmmmmm, if it's Cockney, then Danger would rhyme with stranger, and Nick would rhyme with...
I CALL SOCKPUPPET!!
We're onto you now, you dirty bugger!
Well, I wouldn't want all these inane comments on MY account history.
bushshrubthicketmini-wilderness we call a bush, and for twenty+ years it's given scads of pucker fruit. It sits in an area covered in cinder rock on the west side of the house where the heat reflects, and it never gets watered. The berries are sour, juicy, and normally plentiful. I guess we'll see next year if it was a climate-flukey thing or if it's maxed itself out. Although the only ones really bugged this year are the birds--we've had our fair share off already.