Gooseberry Freedonia - Ribes uva-crispa

The Freedonia Gooseberry is a highly productive variety, vigorous, late-ripening, and less thorny than other Gooseberry varieties. The bush produces round fruits with a pinkish-red skin, slightly hairy, and translucent pink flesh that ripens in August. They have a pleasant fragrance and their sweet and tangy flavour surprises the taste buds. Rich in pectin, the fruits are ideal for making jellies or jams. Slightly crunchy, gooseberries are delicious when eaten fresh, and their subtle, sweet, and tangy aroma is wonderful in pastries and as an accompaniment to fish or savoury dishes. This variety is particularly resistant to powdery mildew. The harvest takes place in August.

In the Currants category the Gooseberry, Ribes grossularia var. uva-crispa, also known as the Prickly Gooseberry, Curly Grape, Louse-Clapper, Crunch-Louse, Balloon, or Wineberry, belongs to the Grossulariaceae family, like Redcurrants (Ribes rubrum) and Blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum). The name "Gooseberry" comes from the English, who have long used this fruit to make a sweet and sour sauce to accompany mackerel. Cultivated in northern Europe since the 16th century, the Gooseberry is a fertile hybrid resulting from the cross-breeding of two species native to Europe and North Africa, still found spontaneously in montane forests in Scotland, France, and the Caucasus.

The Gooseberry is a bushy shrub, often thorny, with a tufted habit of slightly stiff, branched, and spreading twigs. This bush reaches a height of 1m (3ft) with a spread of 75cm (30in). The foliage is deciduous (absent in winter), composed of palmate, lobed, and aromatic leaves, of medium green colour. This shrub resembles classic currants but is mainly different in terms of the fruit: larger and sweeter in taste, they appear individually along the twigs, unlike clustered currants. Except for a few thornless varieties, the Gooseberry has prickly stems. The flowering takes place in spring, in the form of clusters of insignificant greenish flowers, intensely visited by bees. The fruiting occurs mainly on one- and two-year-old stems. The bush is then covered with translucent berries, round to oval, 1.5 cm (1in) in diameter, distributed along the stems, resembling marbles and containing small seeds. Harvesting, which takes place as the fruits ripen, is made easier by the size of the berries. The Gooseberry produces approximately 3 to 5 kg of fruit per plant depending on the age and growing conditions of the plant.

Gooseberries are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, minerals, trace elements, as well as potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. Moreover, their low sugar content classifies them among the least energy-dense small fruits (50 kcal per 100g). Like coloured marbles, the fruits of the Freedonia Gooseberry are a real treat in the summer. Picked from the bush, they are exquisite when eaten fresh, and for added indulgence, they can be sprinkled with a little granulated sugar. In the kitchen, to attenuate the acidity of the fruits, they can be blanched for one minute and then cooled under cold water. Excellent in jellies or jams, they can also be used to garnish tarts and make cakes. They are also perfect for making syrups, sorbets, ice creams, or desserts. The subtle balance between the flavour and acidity of the fruits offers an interesting option to accompany meats (game, poultry), fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, tuna), or as a little touch in mixed salads.

In summer, the Gooseberry provides the satisfaction of bountiful harvests and the pleasure of enjoying delicious fruit, but be careful of the thorns. In the garden, it finds its place in association with other Gooseberries, Raspberry bushes or other varieties of berries to form an edible hedge.