General Information : Gooseberry

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A. Other languages
Czech: Angrest
Danish: Stikkelsbaer
Dutch: Kruisbes
English: Gooseberry (Crossberry)
Finnish: Karviais-marjat
Flemish : Stekelbes (Kroesels, Knoesels, Haarbes)
Français: Groseille à maquereau, Groseilliers epineux (Groseille verte, Groseille tambours, Groseille croque-poux)
German: Stachelbeere
Hongarian : Egres
Italian : Uva spina
Norvegian : Stikkelsbär
Polish : Agrest
Portugese : Uva do norte
Romanian : Agrisa
Slovenian : Egres
Spanish : Uva espina, Grosella espinosa
Swedish : Krüsbar
Turkish : Büyürtlen


B.name
'Goosberry' has been the common name for this plant in the English language from at least as far back as the 15th century. It is known that gooseberry preserve was favoured when serving a goose. Perhaps an even earlier name, certainly used through the middle ages in some regions, was 'Feaberry' or 'feverberry'. The fruit had a reputation for its cooling property; an ability to control fevers. In the 18th century these cultivated members of the Ribes family were commonly referred to as bush trees, or frequently simply as trees. This name reflects that the plants were commonly pruned in a standard shape on a short trunk.

C. Culture
In England and northern France production was of considerable commercial importance during the Middle Ages. There exist a report of the shipment of plants from france to England in the 13th century.
After several centuries marked by an active interest in propagation and gooseberry production in England, a decline began in the late 18th century. As the industrial revolution progressed, labourers moved out of the rural areas into growing centers surrounding the new factories. This reduced production mirrors the decline in the number of those professionally run estate kitchen gardens.
A network of clubs of small growers, specializing in gooeberry husbandry, sprang up. Memebers competed for the distinction of having produced the largest specimen fruit of the year. Some of these old societies still prosper today.
End of the 19th century industrial use of gooseberry (mainly for pectin) was replaced by other fruits (apples). This made that between the two world wars, the sometimes large gooseberry orchards were gone and replaced by other cultures. This also meant that the once important volumes of berries exported to the UK from e.g. France, Belgium and Holland was history...
Only till the 60-70's goosberry culture was still dominated mainly by a few industrial varieties. Because of the constant mildew problems, some people in different countries started to look for industrial mildew tolerant varieties.

Although some good introductions have been done, still the existing culture -as side crops- is dominated by the old varieties.
During the mid 90-ties a renewed interest in small fruits started, and as environment became in the meantime an important issue, the demand for 'ecological' cultivated berries is rapidly growing, and little by little the old varieties are being replaced by 'tolerant' varieties.
Also the home grower has re-discovered these tolerant varieties, and as some varieties combine this tolerance with a lack of spines, again more and more people discover the marvellous taste pallet that fresh gooseberries have to offer.

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