Do you guys know what a ground cherry is?
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I grew the Aunt Molly variety last year from plants I got online and fortunately they self-seed. So once you buy one you never have to buy another.
They’re a sprawling plant that’s part of the nightshade family. It sort of looks like a tomatillo in that the fruit is inside a papery husk. Some people say they have a strawberry/tomato or pineapple/tomato flavor. They’re really tasty – a sweet refreshing fruit (not too sweet). You can eat them raw or use them like any berry and make jam, pies etc. They also make good salsa. You can even dip them in chocolate! They freeze well too.
When they’re ripe they’ll just drop off the plant onto the ground. I’ve noticed that some will still be green even though they’ve fallen off the plant so I always let them stay in the husks for a few weeks. Supposedly they’ll keep for 3 months in their husks in the right conditions.
This is what they look like out of their husks. They should be a golden yellow color.
I mixed them with the last of our blueberries and made two little crisps for my husband and I to enjoy with our afternoon coffee.
The rest I husked and froze to use this winter. I just love using summer berries in the dead of winter to bake something delicious!
So think about growing some ground cherries next year. They’re really tasty and for me have been a easy trouble free plant.
I have never seen these in the market or tried them. Do you think they only grow in the south?
No I do believe they grow elsewhere. They even grow in the wild in some places.
My grandma in Iowa used to grow ground cherries. Ground cherry pie is delicious! Good info on how easy they are to grow–something to keep in mind for when we own a home.
I had my first ground cherry on Saturday at a farmstand. It was delicious and apparently they grow in Massachusetts too.
Ok Manuela– I’ve heard of these in several places I’ve read this growing season. So couple of questions:
Where do you buy them?
Are they drought tolerant?
and…
I saw one picture they were red on the vine, but you showed them harvested as a golden color, can you eat the red ones?
(I assume the red is what gives them the name, since they look like cherries) ?
I am going to check into this some more, I’m intrigued.
Pat
I got my plants online. Territorial Seeds or Seed Savers – maybe Gurney’s I can’t remember since it was last year. I’m sure if you google them places will come up that sell them.
Manuela
I don’t think I have heard of or seen those before. A berry cobler or crisp will taste good this Winter when it is cold and wet outside.
The pictures look like they are similar to a gooseberry.
I’ve never heard of them, either. Will have to check into them and see if they will grow here.
The only things dropping around here are black walnuts. While I love to EAT them, I do not like (that is putting it mildly) having them grow in my yard. This is the second place we’ve lived with a black walnut tree. They are messy (especially after the squirrels… who love them… break them open on your deck) and one cannot grow a garden where there has been a walnut tree or where they have been “composted”.
Ground cherries sound so much lovelier…
I buy them in the UK Manuela where they are known as Physalis and I love them! I really must have a go at growing them :o)
I had never heard of ground cherries until about a year ago. Dh and I were at a sale where they had lots of produce and there were some there that the Amish had brought to sell. Dh asked the Amish about them because we had never heard of them before. 🙂
I have never heard of a ground cherry but they look yummy… especially when you bake them in a tasty crisp! YUMMY! Have a blessed evening, HUGS!
We have some ground cherries that grow under the eaves of our barn, right IN the corral. You’d think they would die off, but they never do.
Wow, they look pretty AND delicious !! I will have to look for them…I love a tasty crisp too!
I haven’t grown them in a few years, but my boys loved them when the were young. I never had a chance to do anything with them. The boys ate them as soon as they were ripe!
I have never heard of ground cherries here but they look and sound good. It’s nice to have summer fruit frozen for the winter months. An interesting post!
I have never heard of ground cherries … thanks for enlightening me!
I didn’t know what I was eating, but I have tasted these. Not bad at all; although, not particularly full of flavor. Glad to know that they are easy to grow. Wish I had more room for such things.