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Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

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Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby herbidacious » Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:20 pm

Has anyone cooked with these? I have too many (I know that sounds a bit "But I'm bored with roast peacock"...) but it's a use or lose situation. The plants were overwintered and have done very well... and ripened all at once and earlier than usual, and the fruit are dropping off the plants.

I suppose jam is the obvious one, as it requires no freezer space, but I am not really in jam mode/mood.

edit: struggling to find a jam recipe I feel confident about.

Anyone want any?!

They are quite seedy...

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby scullion » Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:45 pm

hahahaha - if i was closer i'd take some off your hands!
how about drying them so that you can add them in to muesli etc or as part of a dried fruit mix in a cake?

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby herbidacious » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:03 pm

Will look into that.

I have just heroically de-caped about a kilo of them.

It might be something you might like to grow, Scully. Apparently, if you can protect them over winter they will live for up to five years. I have five plants :o I reckon one or two would be enough. It's very easy to take cuttings too. Just put them in some compost and leave them to it.

I will doubtless have dozens of seedlings coming up in the ground next year, from 'windfalls'.

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:13 pm

they grow wild in my garden. I´ve got no idea where they come from: over here they´re called " Uchuva".
I´ve made jam with them and I´d say it´s highly successful, at least from a flavour point of view.
For every kilo of Inca berries, I use about 800 gms of sugar, but that´s because I use cane sugar rather than beet sugar and I find the cane sugar much sweeter. Any less than 800 gms and you just might have a conservation problem. Cook for about 20 minutes ( do the " saucer" test to see if the jam has set) and bottle.
I´ve also made Inca berry chutney, although I didn´t find it as successful.
A salad with microgreens, goat´s cheese, Inca berries and cherry tomatoes is delicious. I´d also recommend it for "Rudjak" - an Indonesian fruit salad containing pineapple, mango, cucumber, tomatoes, fresh chiles, tamarind water, palm sugar , ketjap manis and fish sauce. You could cut out the fish sauce - use mirin, maybe - and sub the mango for Inca berries.
I´ve not tried it , but as a topping for cheesecake, Inca berries must be glorious.

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby Renee » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:33 pm

I grew them once many years ago Herbi, at my previous home, where I had a large greenhouse. I was so excited when the seeds germinated, but after transferring the seedlings to pots, they took over one side of the greenhouse! They are so delicious and much tastier than the ones that you find in the supermarkets. I do hope that you find some way of preserving them.

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby scullion » Fri Sep 11, 2020 6:43 pm

what about bottling them in a light syrup for the winter?
they do sound like something i would grow - i actually have a packet of physalis seeds from a year or two ago that i never got round to planting.

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Re: Cape Gooseberries/Inca Berries

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Sep 11, 2020 7:18 pm

I like that idea, Scully.
With maybe a tsp or two of rum? 8-)

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