Celebrate Gooseberries!

Day 264: The first picking of the season! Admittedly, it was only a cup once they were topped, tailed and cut in two, but the first fruits for a batch of my favourite jam are in the freezer. I don't think I'll have enough for a double batch this time around, but there are still a couple of jars left from last year. I'm surprised more people don't grow gooseberries. I suppose it's because prepping them for pie or jam is a lot of work. "Topping and tailing" means slicing off both the stem end and the blossom end with a sharp knife, a rather tedious process when you have a large number of berries. Done a few at a time (two cups at most) and on a daily basis as the fruit ripens, it's not such a bad chore. The berries can be kept frozen and processed during cooler weather, a boon for those of us who don't care to slave over a hot stove when it's 90 degrees out. The jam is tart-sweet, tangy and flavourful, and utterly delicious on homemade sourdough bread, but mind the thorns when you're harvesting. Many people wear welder's gloves when picking gooseberries, but I find that a little care and caution is all you really need. The birds will pick them if you allow them to ripen fully, so get them when they first begin to "give" when pinched gently.