John Myers
Gooseberries are healthy and rich in vitamins. For direct consumption, however, it is best to use ripe fruit. Unripe gooseberries contain substances that can have a harmful effect on the kidneys if consumed in excess. Ripe gooseberries can be recognized by their plump and soft fruit bodies. The riper the fruit, the sweeter it tastes.
With gooseberries there is the so-called “green picking”. Green and unripe gooseberries are only suitable for processing and should not be consumed fresh in large quantities. Incidentally, this also applies to raw rowanberries and elderberries, both of which you should boil before enjoying.
Fresh, unripe gooseberries contain glyoxylic acid. This in turn can produce oxalic acid. If this meets calcium in the intestine, poorly soluble salts are formed, which prevent the absorption of calcium. The excess oxalic acid is absorbed by the body and only slowly excreted. This can have a negative effect on the kidneys and promote the formation of kidney stones.
However, large amounts of unripe gooseberries must be consumed fresh before this problematic health effect occurs. Since their fruit body is still very hard and their taste is very sour, the danger is low. However, unripe gooseberries can be processed into jams without any health risk. When baking, the hard fruit body is even an advantage because the berries don’t burst as quickly.
Ripe gooseberries are particularly healthy when eaten directly. They are in season from June to around mid-August and contain 35 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams. They also provide folic acid, valuable minerals, and secondary plant substances.
Since ripe gooseberries, like all berries, only keep for a short time, they should be eaten, processed or frozen quickly. Unripe gooseberries, on the other hand, keep for about three weeks. If you freeze ripe gooseberries in a freezer bag, you can keep them for around six months.
Our gooseberry jam offers you a very tasty option for quick processing.
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