Jack had a good crop of Cape Gooseberries this year. I made jam with some of them and froze some in syrup, wonderful for fruit salad now that the crop is finished. Then Jack heard about dried gooseberries and decided to give those a try. He spread the gooseberries out on a mesh and covered them with a net to keep out insects and dust. They took a surprisingly long time to dry. He tried cutting the berries, but that didn't speed the process up any. Patience was required but eventually they were ready.
They make a good snack to munch on as is, but I've also been using them in my baking. I made Scroggin Biscuits this morning using half gooseberries and half more conventional dried fruit. They darken a lot if they're on the outside of the cookie, similar to raisins.
I think we can consider them a success.
Yum! I do enjoy gooseberries!
ReplyDeleteI googled gooseberries, because i wan't familiar with the name. It is popular here for syrup, but your cookies sound yummy too! I think fruits dry slower because of the water content, our herbs dried pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteDepends on how dry the air is too. It would be too humid now to dry them at all.
DeleteCan't remember ever eating them in any form other than as fresh berries. Love them but will have to wait till for another 2/3 months for the season ;-P
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