Gooseberry Pie

Summer fruit pies are a thing to be treasured.  When I think about pie, I usually think about thanksgiving or Christmas, but to be honest, summer should get more credit because that is when lots of fruit ripens, including gooseberries, which are delicious in this gooseberry pie.

What is a gooseberry? It is a small berry that grows on bushes starting as green and becoming purple as it ripens, and closely related to the currant.  The green berries are tart and sweeten some as they ripen. Some say they taste like a grape, but I think of them more along the lines of rhubarb because of their tartness.

Making a gooseberry pie is a labor of love because the tops and tails from the berries must be snipped off, and it is very time consuming.  The tops are the little stems that hold the berry on the bush, and the tail is the remainder of the fruit’s flower.  I use a clean fingernail clipper to make easy work of cleaning the berries.

The berries can also be frozen, and you can use either fresh or frozen in this gooseberry pie recipe.  I find that the flavor of this recipe varies from year to year based on the tartness of the berries and how ripe they are when I pick them.

I use green gooseberries in this recipe because I love their tart flavor, but red gooseberries can be used as well, you just may want to cut back on the sugar.

The most popular way to use gooseberries is in pie, but they can also be used in jams and jellies and other sauces like chutney if you are lucky enough to have extra.  If you don’t have time to top and tail the berries, try juicing them to make jelly.

Ingredients for the Gooseberry Pie recipe:

Gooseberries: I use green gooseberries, with a few red ones scattered throughout.  You will need 4 cups with the tops and tails removed.  Red gooseberries can be used, they are a little sweeter, so cut back on the sugar some.

Water: Water helps prevent the berries from scorching in a pan before they start to release their own juices.  You don’t want to use a lot because excess will make a runny pie.

Sugar: Gooseberries are tart so their flavor is balanced with sugar.  I have not experimented with any alternative sweeteners so I cannot say if they would work.

Nutmeg: Just a little bit of nutmeg helps to add some complexity to the pie and keep it from being bland.  You could try another similar spice such as mace, allspice, or cinnamon.

Flour: The filling needs a thickener to make the pie sliceable and not a gooey mess.  I used flour, but half as much cornstarch could also be used.  Both flour and cornstarch need to be cooked, therefore make sure it boils for one minute after adding to the filling mixture.

Pie Crust: You need a crust to hold together all your filling!  I recommend my double all-butter pie crust recipe.

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Recipe adapted from Midwest Living.