ground cherries.
Posted in fruit | 5 commentsLike a tiny paper lantern concealing a golden jewel, the ground cherry has a pleasantly mild flavor, which I can only describe as a cross between a sweet tomato and a cantaloupe, with a surprisingly subtle vanilla undertone. Quite delectable.
ground cherries encased in elegant paper-lantern husks.
Like most of the other produce in my house, this mysterious fruit made its way into my kitchen via our weekly food share box from Taproot Farms in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. And this tiny treat was something I had never encountered before; another upside to being part of community shared agriculture — or shopping at farmer’s markets — is that you will discover uncommon and interesting locally grown food that you’d never see at a big box grocery store.
unveiled and ready to eat.
Despite their name, ground cherries do not contain pits, but are instead propagated by tiny seeds, so they’re perfectly fine popped into your mouth and eaten whole. Part of the nightshade family (which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers), ground cherries are similar in size, shape and structure to a tiny tomato, can be eaten raw, used in salads, desserts, and in preserves. They also make a unique dried fruit for a snack, or try them dipped in chocolate – lovely!
Stay tuned for a pretty little fruit tart featuring ground cherries…
Lovely! I’ve only ever had the chance to buy these in the UK. Any suggestions for more mainstream stores that carries these?
They really are quite nice! My recent introduction to ground cherries was from a local farmer, but I would think that one might be able to find them at a store such as Whole Foods – unfortunately there’s only one Whole Foods here in Canada, and it’s not in my city *so sad*. Apparently they can be grown quite similarly to tomatoes, though, so depending on where you live it might be worth looking for some seeds to plant next spring!
I actually buy them at Sobey’s in Manitoba. They have them several times a year. I recently bought some of my own plants from a local nursery. So excited! I love them with chocolate!
I grew these last year and they were fantastic! They were called a pineapple tomatillo and truly tasted like mini pineapples – oh so delightful in a green salad or with granola and yogurt. YUM! Look forward to your tart post :)
Nice! There are so many wonderful foods we can grow here – these are truly lovely!