Karenism Deliciously geeky

…are the my current fruit obsession. Here is a photo of these golden drops of deliciousness. I took this in Milan, where I first discovered the fruits at an open market. Thereafter, I was constantly on the hunt for them. They were often found at uppity “whole foods” equivalent produce stands for anywhere between 15 and 25 euros a kilo. (That’s about $8-14/lb, which is approximately the cost of black/raspberries) We had no idea what they were called in English. In Italian, the word for them started with ‘ak’ and there was at least 1 more k and the word was long-ish. Not italian, and unpronounceable. After a bit of research, I think the word was derived from the species name of it’s sister, Physalis alkekengi. These, commonly referred to as Chinese Lanterns have red pod coverings as opposed to the Cape gooseberries, which have yellowish pod coverings. Like a tomatillo, they also have tons of bitter tomato-like seeds.

It’s hard to describe their flavor. They’re a bit tangy and sour, but also perfumy and sweet and the slightest bit nutty. It is somewhat like a combination of a flavor king pluot and something else. I think they would go really well with lamb, though I would prefer eating them by themselves. They are very similar to the plants that Dennis grows. His look the same, except the berry is slightly larger than a pea. We still don’t know what those plants are called, but his parents grow them on the east coast, and they seem to like that climate much better.

I found Cape gooseberries at Berkeley Bowl. Oh sweet Berkeley Bowl, the love of my life. They are absolutely worth trying. Here’s a detailed description of them. I think that at some point in the future, I want to try growing them.