Seasonal Stars - Gooseberries

Of all our Irish fruit the gooseberry has the earliest natural season and is ideally suited to our climate - yet it seems to be inexplicably underused.

The gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. If you have gooseberries in your garden it is worth making the effort to use them in a variety of ways so they won't be taken for granted.

There are a plethora of ways to use gooseberries. Many people like to freeze, preserve or use them fresh! As they require a lot of sweetening, they are the perfect fruit for preserving. And as they freeze quite well, you can pop them in the freezer in July and use them throughout the winter for pies, crumbles and jams!

Chef Enda has put together a delicious gooseberry fool with a crunchy shortbread recipe.