Goosberries, Currants, & Cranberries

Gooseberries are primarily grown in New Zealand, although small amounts are also grown in Oregon and California. Gooseberries are made into jams, pies and dessert items, and some dessert quality gooseberries can be eaten fresh.

Currants are mainly grown in Oregon. Black currants are used in many desserts such as pies, while red currants are used for juice, jellies, fresh eating, and sauces, or can be combined with fresh parsley to make a gorgeous plate garnish. You can use currants and gooseberries to add color and a tart "acid punch" flavor to dishes ranging from sweet or sour sauces, ice cream, yogurt, sorbets, meat/poultry/fish glazes, or as a flavor enhancer (like lemons). Black currants have the highest vitamin C content of all temperate fruits with 444% of the RDA, and red currants and gooseberries have 73-95% of the daily allowance, which is also very high.

Cranberries are not grown in water, contrary to popular belief. They grow on vines in beds called bogs or marshes, layered with sand, peat, gravel, and clay. Cranberries require acidic soil, plenty of fresh water, and a long growing season to reach their ripeness and maturity. The leading cranberry-producing states are: Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington.

Selection & Storage
Gooseberries should be hard and dry with a lustrous sheen, and if you pick pinkish-purple berries, they are not as tart. Gooseberries will stay firm for two weeks in the refrigerator and then they will soften and turn pinkish. When they turn purplish, you can still use them for a pur�e.

Currants should be deeply red and shiny to eat uncooked. Choose a paler colored berry for jams and jellies. Refrigerate fresh currants in clusters on a paper towel for up to three days. Red currants from California are available from May to June, from New Zealand late December to early February along with black currants (not the dried grapes). The season for red currants in Oregon begins about June 15 and lasts until about July 15.

Cranberries are usually found sealed in plastic, and should be checked for size, deep red color, and as little debris or withered fruit as possible. Cranberries begin to hit the market in late September and continue into early December. Cranberries can be stored in the refrigerator for one month, and in the freezer for one year. Every once in a while there is a fresh cranberry shortage, so to avoid scrambling around for that essential addition to a holiday dinner, stock up early and freeze several bags.

Preparation
Gooseberries need the little stems and tops snipped off with scissors unless you intend to sieve the berries after cooking. Use smaller gooseberries for cooking, as the larger ones will lose their flavor when cooked.

Currants simply need to be rinsed in a bowl of water. Pull the stems off the currants using a fork.

Cranberries need to be rinsed thoroughly. Discard any berries that are soft, shriveled or discolored. Cook cranberries only until they pop. They will become mushy and bitter if you cook them any longer. Although the traditional sweetener is sugar, there's no reason why you can't use honey or brown sugar. Use preserves such as marmalade to add flavoring and sweetening at the same time. Hot peppers in your cranberry sauce will add a special kick, especially if it is going to be used with some Southwestern dish.

Tony's Tip
You can make an uncooked cranberry sauce by grinding cranberries in a food processor with apples, oranges, or dried apricots.

Tony's Favorite Recipe
Cranberry Sauce with Ameretto

Gooseberry Varieties
There are several thousand, named gooseberry cultivars; 3004 red, 675 yellow, 925 green, 280 white, but only green, white and yellow fruit are used for processing.

Invicta is the new star of the gooseberry world! It produces the biggest yield and largest fruit of any of the commonly grown high quality gooseberry.

Hinnomaki Red is a dark red medium sized fruit from Finland, with an outstanding flavor whose outer skin is tangy, while the flesh is sweet.

Pixwell is medium to small in size, purple-red-pink in color with a thin skin, and is considered fair to good in quality.

Poorman originated in Utah, the result of an American X European type cross, and was introduced in 1888. Don't let the name fool you as it is one of the larger, better flavored, fresh-eating type of gooseberry which is equally good for pies, jams and other processed products.

Cape gooseberries originated in Peru and have been cultivated in the Cape of Good Hope since the19th century. They are native to the region between the Caucasus Mountains and China, and also found throughout South America, Mexico and the southern United States. They are related to the tomato and are also called: Chinese lantern, golden berry, strawberry tomato, tomatillo, ground cherry, love-in-acage and winter cherry. The fruit is bright yellow (sometimes red) and the size of a cherry tomato. Prior to harvesting, it is enclosed in a golden brown, papery husk that goes brittle as it ripens.

Jostaberry Varieties
Jostaberries are a complex cross of black currants with gooseberries. The nearly black fruit is two to three times the size of a typical currant, but without the strong "foxy" flavor of the black currants. Jostaberries ripen about mid-July in central Minnesota.

Black Currant Varrieties
Ben Alder is a small size berry with superior juice quality and a high vitamin C content.

Ben Tirran is well suited for juice production, and is excellent for canning, jams, or preserves.

Ben Connan has large, firm, round attractive shiny deep black berries, which are excellent for consuming fresh or for canning, jams, preserves, etc.

Ben Lomond is highly prized by the juice industry for its high vitamin C, large size and juice color.

Consort is a black, strong flavored medium sized fruit.

Crandall is a Native American fruit. The dark red to black berries have a pleasant taste for fresh eating or make a flavorful jam, jelly, syrup or spread.

Crusader has dark black berries with a high vitamin C content.

Red Currant Varieties
Red Lake has large dark red berries, is sub-acid and of high quality with a high juice content.

Redstart produces medium size berries with good color, whose flavor is rather acid.

White Currant Varieties
Albatross is a translucent medium sized fruit with good flavor that is excellent for fresh eating.

Primus is very sweet and tasty with a unique flavor, and is very high in vitamin C.

White Imperial Currants are white, translucent fruit with a pink blush. They are considered to have the sweetest and richest flavor of all currants and are about the same size as red currants.

The White Imperial is an old variety that was introduced in 1895.

Cranberry Varieties
Names for one hundred and twenty-seven different cranberry varieties have been recorded in literature but the major commercial varieties that account for about 90% of all the berries produced are:
Early Black, Howes, McFarlin, Searles, Bergmans, Ben Lear and Stevens. Other species grown for cranberry-fruit include:
Mossberry or small cranberry is smaller, more rounded and has speckled fruit.

Lignonberries are a small cranberry-like fruit from Northern Europe, also called Mountain cranberries.

Highbush cranberry is similar to cranberry only in fruit size and color, and is sometimes used as a substitute for cranberries in sauce with (large) seeds removed.

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