What is ground cherry used for?
They can be eaten fresh as is, after taking them out of their husks where they can be used to make sauces and salsas. Additionally, they can even be used in pies and jams. Our Master Gardener Volunteers taste-tested a ground cherry salsa during a recent workday, and most enjoyed it. Eating. Ground cherries can be eaten fresh, processed into jam, and baked into pies. Their distinctive, sweet-tart taste lends itself to preserves, sauces, and tarts.
Can you eat ground cherries?
Ground Cherry is in the nightshade family and its leaves in stems contain solanine a poison. Best to avoid eating the greens, but the ripe fruit is fine. Pies, cobblers, and tarts, oh my! The unique tropical flavors of ground cherries really make them a perfect addition to any fruity dessert recipe. Ground Cherry Pie – Use your favorite pie crust recipe and add a ground cherry filling for a pie that always receives cheers.Ground cherries are commonly grown for snacking because they are delicious to eat raw. Their flavor is mild, yet quite sweet and very unique. I’ve heard them compared to a cross between a tomato and a pineapple. Their sweet and sometimes slightly tart flavor gives them versatility to work in so many different ways.We are all familiar with Cape Gooseberries, but did you know that the Cape Gooseberry is actually not a gooseberry at all? It is in fact a ground cherry, which is not a true cherry, but more closely related to tomatoes and tomatillos. Ground cherries are part of the Solanaceae family, which is the nightshade family.Ground cherries go by several common names – I regularly hear ground cherry, husk cherry, cape gooseberry, golden gooseberry and pineapple tomatillo used for the same thing. They’re small golden fruits in a papery husk that are ripe at the very end of a Vermont summer.In fact, the ground cherry is a very nutritious fruit, filled with Vitamins A and C, beta-carotene, potassium, and many other nutrients. Just like their tomatillo kin, with whom the ground cherry shares a genus, each ground cherry fruit is covered in a thin, papery sheath.
What fruit is similar to ground cherries?
Tomatillo plants can grow to be quite big and take up more space than tomato plants. In the same genus as tomatillos are a number of similar but different domestic species of ground cherries. They produce fruit that is small and sweet, and eaten raw, cooked or dried. Once ripe, the berries will fall to the ground, hence the name Ground Cherries. It has a tomatillo like husks that help protect the berries from insects and pests. I have eaten many green ones and am still here to tell the tale! If you wait for them to fall the insects will get there first!Ground cherries can be eaten fresh, processed into jam, and baked into pies. Their distinctive, sweet-tart taste lends itself to preserves, sauces, and tarts.Ground Cherries aka Husk Cherries What do ground cherries taste like? It’s hard to explain. Some describe them as a cross between a tomato and a pineapple. Others say a mix between a tomatillo and a grape.Ground cherries are a fruit in the same family as the tomato, Solanaceae. And yes, tomatoes are technically classified as a fruit. Ground cherries belong to the species Physalis pruinosa and are closely related to the tomatillo, Physalis ixocarpa, and ornamental Chinese lanterns Physalis alkekengi.Ground cherries are said to have gotten their name because when they are perfectly ripe they fall to the ground.
How can I use ground cherries?
Ground Cherries are relatives of tomatoes, and once husked are eaten raw, in salads or desserts, dried or made into jams. Sometimes called cape gooseberries, winter cherries, or husk tomatoes, ground cherries are small yellow fruits with a papery husk. Ground cherries can be eaten fresh, processed into jam, and baked into pies. Their distinctive, sweet-tart taste lends itself to preserves, sauces, and tarts.Nutritional Value Ground cherries are high in vitamins A and C, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. The ripe fruits also have a concentration of beta-carotene, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, bioflavonoids, protein, and fiber.There are more than 75 different species of ground cherries in the genus Physalis within the nightshade family. The fruits of Physalis are similar to a small tomato. This fruit is enclosed in a papery husk called a calyx that enlarges and covers the maturing fruit.The taste of the berry is sweet and fruity. Some people liken them to pineapple. Ground cherries are called by a few different names, including husk tomato, husk cherry, strawberry tomato, and golden cherry.
What is another name for ground cherries?
Ground cherries go by several common names – I regularly hear ground cherry, husk cherry, cape gooseberry, golden gooseberry and pineapple tomatillo used for the same thing. They’re small golden fruits in a papery husk that are ripe at the very end of a Vermont summer. Fresh, ripe ground cherries are difficult to resist, and many times the fruits don’t even make it into the kitchen. To enjoy them fresh, simply push the fruit out of its husk and pop it into your mouth. If you have a lot of ground cherries, there are also many wonderful ways you can cook with them.