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Monday, February 1, 2016

Wosterberries for pies, pears for eating fresh!



5 comments:

Ray said...

How is a Wosterberry different to a gooseberry?
Asking for a friend?
I do know gooseberries are best picked green for superior pies, Oamaru Show day which was early November and when the very first early strawberries came in, in the good old days that is

robertguyton said...

Wosterberries are gooseberry-like, only sweeter, softer and darker when ripe. Their thorns are sharper and longer and their leaves smaller. They ripen a little later than gooseberries and are madly attractive to birds.
Yep, I too have heard that pre-ripe gooseberries are better for cooking and somehow sweeter.However when eaten raw, they make your lips pucker something terrible :-)
Earl November! That's well before we get anything much ripe around here. Our Wilson's Early plums weren't this year but when they did ripen up, they were lovely. We're still stewing them for breakfast but some are looking a little dodgy in the basket now. Our "Southland plums, real name unknown, are just colouring-up now and the birds are taking an interest. Thank goodness I netted 80% of the tree.

Ray said...

Not ripe then but that is the time to gather them as compared to when they are ripe, which is now
They are tart but cooked in a custard flan by my wife has some real fans
Do the Wosterberries suffer from the the fungus that devastated all the wild and common types around here
Invicia is resistant but the other one in my garden just gets overcome despite spraying, it is due to be culled

Ray said...

OK, done the research, wocesterberries, there are various spellings are resistant, they are thought might be the original gooseberry
Very thorny and uneven ripening are characteristics
There is something similar that is a true cross between a blackberry and a gooseberry with no thorns and a different flavour entirely

robertguyton said...

Nice work with the research, Ray! Yes, they do ripen unevenly and they certainly show no signs at all of fungus, ever. The original gooseberry! That's exciting to learn. I like the sources of plants. They are very easy to reproduce from cuttings. Layering is even easier and they do that of their own accord. I'll try some seed this year as well. I never know what will appear but it's always worth a try. There are currant and gooseberry seeds wrapped in guano all over the broadleafed herbs in my garden, especially those growing under natural perches.