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inca berries
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:50 pm
by dave45
anyone grown these?
huge plants, handful of tiny fruits, but what do you do with them?
Re: inca berries
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 8:43 am
by doofaloofa
Got a botanical name/img/wiki-link Dave?
Re: inca berries
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:07 am
by MKG
Here you go, Dave. Chapter and verse as long as Wong isn't wong about them.
http://homegrown-revolution.co.uk/desse ... a-berries/
Re: inca berries
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:13 pm
by diggernotdreamer
oh, right, cape Gooseberries, otherwise none as Physalis peruviana. I have grown these for years. They are delicious just eaten yellow and ripe from the casing and have a slightly pineapple taste to me. You could make a liqueur from them, I used some vodka, sugar and ripe berries in the same way as you would make sloe or blackcurrant vodka. You can make them into jam, they will keep for quite a while in a cool place, they just get munched on when they are in the fruit bowl. Any that don't ripen and stay green are utilised in my christmas table decorations. I cut down the foliage and keep the pots frost free and they pop up the next year by themselves.
Re: inca berries
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:30 pm
by ina
Often used as decoration in pretentious restaurants... (And then they give you funny looks if you actually eat them! :) ) I quite like them, though. I think slightly pineapply describes them well - but not as sweet. Didn't know you could grow them here!
Re: inca berries
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 2:40 pm
by diggernotdreamer
dave45 wrote:anyone grown these?
huge plants, handful of tiny fruits, but what do you do with them?
Just read this bit again, if you grow them in the ground they make masses of foliage and very little fruit, I grow mine in quite large pots which restricts the root growth, so they produce more fruits.
I grow them in a polytunnel, but they will grow outside in a sheltered spot, near a wall is good as they benefit a bit from the warmth