[Beetroot queen]

Ready. Lol we cant decide whether to pick or not. They are gooseberry size but hard still and hubby says they need go be softer

[Sparkyrog]

Hubby is right

[Beetroot queen]

Hubby is right

I wont be telling him that believe me.  thanks

[Baldy]

I thought I'd try one of my goosegogs yesterday - knew it was going to be a mistake as it was very hard and a little on the small size - still, like to live life on the edge and all that.
It was a mistake.
Apparently I pulled a face that looked like a 'bulldog licking xxxx off a nettle' - it was very very very sharp...

Cheers,
Balders

[Beetroot queen]

I thought I'd try one of my goosegogs yesterday - knew it was going to be a mistake as it was very hard and a little on the small size - still, like to live life on the edge and all that.
It was a mistake.
Apparently I pulled a face that looked like a 'bulldog licking xxxx off a nettle' - it was very very very sharp...

Cheers,
Balders

I will give them a bit longer i think especially before taste testing 

[Sparkyrog]

Like most top fruit you need some amount of softness to it . The amount depends on personal taste ,but gooseberries picked to early will be very very sharp hope this helps

[Baldy]

Like most top fruit you need some amount of softness to it . The amount depends on personal taste ,but gooseberries picked to early will be very very sharp hope this helps

very very very sharp 

[rowan57]

Yep my face just about turned inside out today trying my goose-gogs. The white currants were worse 

[Beetroot queen]

All good things come to those who wait. Its getting exciting all these lovely harvests just around the corner 

[Jackypam]

I tried my first ever blackcurrant because it was nearly black ... Mistake!

[New shoot]

Gooseberries go through several stages. 

Small, hard and about the size of green seedless grapes - under ripe. They need to swell up and soften a bit to be worth eating.

The size of those big black seeded grapes you see and feeling softer - tart but great cooked.  I prefer my Invicta at this size, but I do have a Pax dessert gooseberry bush as well.

Really big, turning slightly golden yellow (Pax goes red) and feel soft - sweet enough to eat off the bush, but not all 'cooking' varieties mature to be as tasty as the dessert varieties.

Leave a few to really ripen and see if you like them at the last stage 

[Beetroot queen]

Thanks all 

[Yorkie]

Gooseberries go through several stages. 

Small, hard and about the size of green seedless grapes - under ripe. They need to swell up and soften a bit to be worth eating.

The size of those big black seeded grapes you see and feeling softer - tart but great cooked.  I prefer my Invicta at this size, but I do have a Pax dessert gooseberry bush as well.

Really big, turning slightly golden yellow (Pax goes red) and feel soft - sweet enough to eat off the bush, but not all 'cooking' varieties mature to be as tasty as the dessert varieties.

Leave a few to really ripen and see if you like them at the last stage 

Assuming the birds don't get there first   

[Salmo]

The traditional way is to pick some to thin them out once they are big enough. These will make lovely tart tarts and pies.

The rest are left to pick as you want them, either to cook or eat as dessert, depending on variety.

[shokkyy]

Yes, I'm close to doing a first picking for cooking with. I've got a few different varieties and some of them are getting pretty big now. I never really wait for them to get perfectly ripe on the bush because if I do that the blackbirds will beat me to it.