Have you ever eaten Ground Cherries?
This was our first experience growing them and what fun they've been to eat and experiment with!
The plants were started from seed in March and there were far too many that finally germinated (I used two packages of seed - silly me).
They are low growing plants and the "cherries" literally fall to the ground when ripe. They come in their own individual paper packages and taste sweet with a hint of caramel or pineapple. Super tasty!
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| Large tomatillos shown here on a dinner plate. |
The ground cherries remind me of their much larger and green cousins called Tomatillo that were grown by my friend Jan this summer. These baseball size beauties also come in a paper thin lantern like husk and make a wonderful salsa!
Here is a recipe I used recently for making a Ground Cherry Pie:
Hull and wash the "cherries" and measure 2 1/2 - 3 Cups of them into an unbaked pie crust.
Thankfully I had some pie crusts stashed away in my freezer.
Thankfully I had some pie crusts stashed away in my freezer.
Sprinkle a mixture of 1/2 Cup brown sugar mixed with 1 heaping Tbsp. of flour over the cherries.
Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of water (or lemon juice) over the brown sugar topping.
Next - mix 6 Tbsp. flour with 3 Tbsp. white sugar. Cut into this mixture 2-3 Tbsp. cold butter. Mix till crumbly.
I also added 2 tsp. of lemon zest to this crumble.
Top the pie with the crumble mixture and bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375F for an additional 25-30 minutes.
Ground Cherrie Pie ....... for sharing or eating all by yourself!
Till next time .... reminding myself not to plant quite so many next year and searching for some good ground cherry preserves recipes. Please share if you have any recipe suggestions ....
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I thought of Tomatillo's right away when I saw your ground cherries. So interesting. Your pie is a work of art! Love it...
ReplyDeleteNever had these before , the pie looks YUMMY ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteI have never eaten, nor even heard of a ground cherry. I had to run and do a tiny bit of research. :)
ReplyDeleteYour pie looks delicious!!
I thought of tomatillos as well and I think I've had these what you call ground cherries in a restaurant as garnish ... Delicious! Your pie crust looks so nice and the pie sounds yummy!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess that the pie crust is a purchased one. We have a wonderful small village store where they sell these delicious homemade pie crusts and I always stock a few in my freezer for quick pies!
DeleteBelieve it or not, I first saw ground cherries at the local farmers market. I tasted one - delicious! I bet that pie is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhere could I get ground cherry seeds, my mom used to make jam from the ground cherries.
ReplyDeleteHey Sharon - I'm not sure where you live but I was able to buy the seeds at a Walmart here in Ontario this past Spring. I started the seeds indoors at the beginning of March. Apparently once you've grown them and let some of them go to seed in the Fall - they will reseed themselves and plants will pop up the next year - hope this works! You can probably also buy the seeds on-line from a seed company?
DeleteThanks Rosella, I live in southern MB and enjoy your blog which I found through MGCC.
ReplyDeleteAw thanks! Hope you can find the seeds where you are - if not, let me know and I could send a pkg. to you from here perhaps! We are really enjoying this little gems and I just might have to make some jam too.
DeleteThanks, I'll keep my eyes open for the seeds next spring.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first I have heard of 'ground cherries'. Your pie looks amazing! I'm thinking ground cherries might have thrived out here this summer...with our hotter than usual weather!
ReplyDeleteOh my Rosella, this takes me back in time! I haven't had these in a very long time. We had a different name for them in Low German but I can't remember it.
ReplyDeleteYour pie looks delicious.
Betty, I grew up just down the road from you and we called them "June Cherries" in German; does that ring a bell?
DeleteBetty, I grew up just down the road from your place and we called them "June Cherries" in German. Does that sound familiar?
DeleteOh those things are good. They aren't called cherries here, but I am not sure what they are called. Was the pie as good as the fruit plain?
ReplyDeleteHusk tomatoes is what they're called in my corner. I like ground cherries better.
DeleteI've never heard of ground cherries but they look very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of ground cherries. Cherry pie is my dh's favourite. That one looks especially yummy!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen them in person---interesting that they're related to tomatillos, but seeing them together, it makes sense. I bet your pie was wonderful!!!
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