Cerises de Terre

A big fave in Quebec is the cerise de terre, the ground cherry, similar (maybe even identical in some incarnations) to huckleberries and related to tomatillos. In the Fall, the marché Jean-Talon is full of locally-grown versions but now, in early July, our first examples are showing up, imported from, of all places, Colombia!

They're a fascinating fruit: on first flush of the bite, you can get the relationship to tomatillos instantly; but then, that passes and some definitely tropical--maybe even pineapple?--flavors hit you. It's a fascinating experience, eating one of these ground cherries, but I haven't a clue what one does with them, other than peeling their parchment covering off and popping them into one's eager mouth. I suppose it's greedy to want anything more than this, but then.

Any ideas?

Do they ever show up there, South of the Border, in markets? I'd never seen them until I moved Up Here.

Geo

Hey Geo,

This thread about cape gooseberries might be of interest. The cape gooseberry and cerise de terre are fairly similar, if not the same. The thread has at least one serving suggestion: simply dipped in sugar.

Let us know what you end up doing with yours..

Edit: Speaking of cape gooseberries at the marche jean talon:



From 09/2005.

Yo gleam!

Yup, your photo is pretty much what it looked like today at J-T, except for missing the black and Rainier cherries, blackberries, red raspberries, gooseberries and red and black currents!

Man, it is the beginning of the peak, the Time of Madness, for fruit around here.

Your Cape gooseberries pictured are what my Colombian cerises de terre pretty much look like. They've got to be the same thing. Tnx for the heads-up on the thread, I'll take a look.

All the local onions, garlic, peas and beans are starting to show up. Tomatoes are still greenhouse, but the first local corn is now here: the smart farmers plant it through plastic and it arrives two weeks before the rest of the sweet corn. $5.50/doz ears.

Pacific sockeye and chum have arrived, and the local lobster season is in full swing. Jean-Talon is a glorious madhouse on a Saturday afternoon, let me tell you.

Geo

Oh, God - now I have to brush up on French! And I was doing so well at La Unica the other day!

Geo wrote:Any ideas?

Do they ever show up there, South of the Border, in markets? I'd never seen them until I moved Up Here.

Geo

We used to get them through our CSA in Brooklyn, and I hit upon this recipe as an excellent way to use them.

I've also had them as martini garnishes, lightly poached the same way - the River Café in Calgary, if memory serves me correctly.

Fillay

I discovered these last year at the local farmer's market in my hometown of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. My husband uses them raw in salads. I can't wait for this year's crop; they are really delicious. I have not seen them around here (Chicago), however.

Fillay,

The Other Dr. Gale whipped up a batch of that rice pudding according to your recipe, and it was quite good. Those fruits are strangely tropical in their flavors, and they go with the rice very nicely.

Tnx for the head's up!

Geo