Produce sightings, please

Has anyone spotted any of these?

- Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana)

- Fresh tarragon in bulk (i.e. not tiny plastic containers for $1.89)

- Gherkin-sized cucumbers in quantity

I has a lovely taste of cape gooseberries dipped in sugar as part of a restaurant's mignardises the other day, so they must be in season, but I've never seen them in markets.

The tarragon and cukes are intended for cornichons, if I can find them. We use a recipe based on one in Helen Witty's "Fancy Pantry." But our beloved tarragon plant seems to have died, and we didn't plant a vegetable garden this year. The ideal cucumbers are smaller than your little finger, but all I can find in stores seem to be dill-pickle sized.

The Green City Market has (or had, I haven't been this year) an herb dealer who sold good sized bunches of herbs, including tarragon, for about $2-3, I think.

Farmer's Market and saw the mini cukes.

LAZ,

Saw these gooseberries at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (click to enlarge -- are these the ones you're looking for?)



Hammond

David Hammond wrote:LAZ,

Saw these gooseberries at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (click to enlarge -- are these the ones you're looking for?)



Hammond

But that's not this week is it. If so, I guess I did not pay close enough attention...

Vital Information wrote:

David Hammond wrote:LAZ,

Saw these gooseberries at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (click to enlarge -- are these the ones you're looking for?)



Hammond

But that's not this week is it. If so, I guess I did not pay close enough attention...

You're right. Not this week. Is the season over? I don't know gooseberries.

I have seen Tarragon and Gherkins in bulk at Stanley's on Elston in the last couple of weeks.

The cape gooseberries you mention are also known as ground cherries, and are usually available at the Evanston Farmer's Market, in the stall next to Henry's Farm (I think it's his sister who operates that stall and sells 'em).

Jung's Seeds carries the seeds. Their description: "low spreading plants produce an abundance of sweet fruits that resemble Chinese lanterns. Excellent for pies and preserves with a strawberry-like flavor. Harvest when the husks are dry and fruits are golden-yellow. Also known as 'Cape Gooseberry,' 'Husk cherry' and 'Strawberry Tomato.'" That strawberry-like flavor business is quite a stretch from my memory. They do make a great pie. Gooseberries are totally different.

August is prime season for ground cherries. The fruit are small (about the size of marbles) inside husks, so the labor requirement for harvesting is substantial. They look like tiny tomatillos (similar to milpitas) but have totally different flavor. Since ground cherries grow like weeds, harvest labor is just about total labor required.

They self-seed very readily, so you would be nuts to plant in ground subject to crop rotation. Ground cherries are right in there with tiger lilies and Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes) in terms of difficulty in getting rid of.

I was hoping for a brick-and-mortar store (thanks for the Stanley's tip, kafein!), since I don't exactly operate on a farmers' market schedule. (Too bad the Randolph Street evening market didn't take off!)

nr706, you're right that Cape gooseberries are sometimes called ground cherries, but the name usually refers to a similar fruit of a different species, Physalis pruinosa. If I can get to the market, I'll check it out, though. Thanks.

David, the fruit in the foreground of your photo look like white and red currants. I can't quite make out the fruit beyond that, but they look more red than gooseberries. These are gooseberries (Ribes hirtellum):



However, what I'm looking for looks like this:

LAZ wrote:
David, the fruit in the foreground of your photo look like white and red currants. I can't quite make out the fruit beyond that, but they look more red than gooseberries.

Yea, that picture of David's is from Nicholl's Farm. It's 3 kindsa currents, and then raspberries. Nicholl's will, at the right time, have gooseberries AND ground cherries. The ground cherries are like tomatillas, as mentioned, and they are not sweet at all. They do have a slight tomato flavor to them.

I guess part of the point of this thread seems to be that if you want interesting produce you have to shop at Farmer's Markets. And you know, CSAs will not do it either. Because a friend is on vacation, we got their box of Angelics Gourmet yesterday. Great stuff, but only a fraction of what I could have bought at Oak Park last week--the tomatos were all hybrid, no fancy varieties of cukes, no squash blossoms, etc. (there was ONE purple bell pepper). Anyways, do not the downtown markets last pretty long, or well into the day?

Rob

Caputo's on Harlem had both Gooseberries and Fresh Currants when I stopped in last night.

LAZ wrote:Has anyone spotted any of these?

- Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana)[b]

They had them at Stanley's yesterday.

They also had gooseberries at Garden Fresh (Northbrook) today.

The packaging actually said gooserberries

I saw them at Marketplace on Oakton today, however, I didn't note the price. They are in the front near the entrance with the raspberries and blackberries.

Hi,

Just before Christmas, I saw frozen gooseberries in the freezer case at an Indian store on Devon. I think it was Patel Brothers.

Regards,

LAZ wrote:- Fresh tarragon in bulk (i.e. not tiny plastic containers for $1.89)

Scored a few pounds of little cucumbers at the farmer's market today, and am now hunting for fresh tarragon to pickle them with. There was none at the market except very small starter plants in pots.

A brick-and-mortar store would be preferable.

Hi- I know that you probably do not want to wait until next Saturday, but Henry Brockman's sister Teresa has them every week at the Evanston market. Teresa also has ground cherries. She only comes to Evanston. Nichols might have tarragon and ground cherries too, and they come to a bunch of markets, including I am sure a Sunday market. Are you looking for some place in the city? I think that you would have an easier time finding what you are looking for at some place like Caputo's or Stanley's than you would at a general grocery store, such as Jewel. Most stores have a hard time keeping herbs presentable, and that is why they don't carry a kit of them. Hope this helps, Nancy