Fruit of the Week: Gooseberry

Name: Gooseberry

Brand: Hartley's

Place of Purchase: Ames British Foods in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin:

Price in Iowa: $3.95 per tin

Description: Reddish-beige orbs in light syrup (with a few pedicles floating in the juice)

Flavor: Tart, mixed with sulfurous compounds. Mone says that they were probably packaged unripe, which is why they are so sour.

Aroma: Since the berries were in a can of syrup, all I smelled was sweet.

Texture/Mouth-feel: Because of the can, I was expecting firm moist berries. "Mushy" is too kind a description.

Notes: I love going to Ames British Foods and World Market. MOSTLY, I'm picking up sweets and cheeses. Perhaps I'll pick up the occasional odd condiment, like the spicy apricot chutney I bought last week. However, with Christmas around the corner, Ames British Foods has a larger selection of foods for folks from the UK and Ireland. This includes dozens of cans of things that I have never seen before. The canned gooseberries jumped out at me. I know that they grow here in North America, but I've never had them before. At this point, I wish I hadn't. Squishy, brown, sour and a flavor reminscent of gym socks. I'll have to try these again fresh, but this experience wasn't great.