Gooseberry Facts

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Gooseberry Facts

Egton Bridge

Gooseberry Show

Gooseberry shows were once popular all over the North, but declined after the First World War, dwindling from about 170 to only 20.

Now there are only two of these original societies left, one in Cheshire and the Egton Bridge Show where official records go back to 1800.

After many years of reducing show numbers we are pleased to welcome the residents of Skillinge in Sweden to the gooseberry show fold. Their 2010 show, The Krusbärsfestival, is being held on the 1st August.

Gooseberry Shows

There's real ritual involved in setting up the scales, bought in 1937 and accurate enough to weigh a feather. The society uses the Avoirdupois system of grains and drams (27.34 grains to one dram, 16 drams to an ounce and 16 ounces to the pound).

The Scales

If a husband and wife compete, they need to keep their plants in separate pens.

Matrimonial Competition

If an exhibitor moves house and wants to take their bushes with them - some have passed through many generations - a member of the show committee has to be present.

Moving House

Gordon Ramsay serves gooseberry sauce with duck, but it also goes with mackerel or herring - both very popular choices in Victorian times.

Celebrity Chefs

An average portion contains about a quarter of the daily Vitamin C requirement.

Good for you?

The phrase "to play gooseberry" comes from the days when the fruit was a euphemism for the devil.

Playing Gooseberry

The bushes can cope with cold weather down to –35°C / -31°F.

Feeling the cold?

The love of gooseberries is not confined to England. Here is a Dutch website dedicated to the humble “kruisbessen”. Bryan’s world record has made it to the Netherlands.

Gooseberries in Europe