Seven of the best gooseberry recipes for using up a glut

What time of year can you buy or pick gooseberries?

Gooseberries can be ready as early as the end of May in the UK, depending on the weather, but tend to ripen from late June to early August. The berries can be green, red or white and sweeten if left on the bush – but most are picked underripe, when they’re still green and mouth-puckeringly sour. This sourness is probably why they sometimes lose out to summer fruit such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries – but it makes them great to cook with.

Got an excess of gooseberries? They freeze incredibly well, so make sure you pick more than you need and keep them on hand for use later in the year.

Where did gooseberries come from?

Gooseberries have been cultivated in Britain since the 15th century. The first soft fruit of summer, they could grow all over the UK, even as far north as the Orkney Islands. They were so popular in the 19th century, in fact, that ‘gooseberry clubs’ were formed across the country, all competing to grow the heaviest berries (current record: 64.5g). In the 20th century, the arrival of a gooseberry fungus from the US caused a sharp decline in the fruit and curtailed most commercial interest.

What can you do with gooseberries?

The tart flavour of gooseberries makes them a great addition to both sweet and savoury dishes – from meaty mains and fresh salads to creamy desserts and golden bakes. Their flavour complements powerful savoury ingredients and dessert staples, such as biscuity pastry, crisp meringue and custard. Gooseberries pair particularly well with white chocolate, almonds and elderflower.

Seven of the best gooseberry recipes

Gooseberry and white chocolate frangipane tart
If you haven’t tried the heavenly combination of creamy white chocolate and tart gooseberries before, you’re in for a treat. Plump honey-glazed gooseberries and chunks of the white stuff crown this classy frangipane tart.

Herby gooseberry focaccia
Food writer Georgina Hayden‘s inspired focaccia is topped with jammy gooseberries, making it a wonderful partner for mature or hard cheeses and cured meats. Bake this for your next picnic or al fresco lunch and you won’t be disappointed.

Gooseberry and ginger loaf cake
One of the most popular summer bakes on the delicious. website, this simple loaf cake combines fresh gooseberries with spicy warmth to very moreish effect. Finish with a drizzle of speedy gooseberry-flavoured icing, alongside chopped crystallised ginger for extra texture.

Pulled pork buns with fennel and gooseberry ketchup
Gooseberries – in ketchup?! That’s right. Here we’ve whizzed fruits into a ketchup with a fresh hit of fennel, to be slathered on buns and piled high with marinated pulled pork. Tart gooseberries are a surprisingly good partner to rich, fatty meats – creating plenty of sweet and tangy contrast.

Gooseberry and toasted coconut pavlova
Take a break from strawberry pavlova and try this showstopping summery number by food writer Angela Clutton. A gooseberry curd fragranced with elderflower cordial and bay leaf is spooned generously over a crispy meringue crown, alongside pillows of elderflower cream, poached gooseberries and toasted coconut flakes. Wow.

Smoked mackerel and gooseberry salad
Gooseberries are stellar in savoury dishes. Try this salad packed with tender summer veg, goat’s cheese and crisp radishes, where the fruits add a tart, zingy dimension alongside rich smoked mackerel. A side dish that will steal the show at any barbecue!

Gooseberry jam
You can rely on this sunny jam to preserve the flavour of high summer gooseberries to enjoy in the cooler month to come. The recipe only adds sugar and water, capturing the gooseberry’s unique flavour in all its glory.

Need more gooseberry ideas? We have inspiring recipes including adventurous salads and an elegant gooseberry pannacotta in our full gooseberry collection.