Other Ribes
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My short experiences with Ribes species in the Sierra Nevada has instilled in me a great appreciation for R. roezlii, the Sierra gooseberry. Formidable in preparation, it yields an amazing juice that tastes like everything good about a Sierra summer.
My currant experiences are less inspiring. Though a gorgeous plant, they are hard to find, hard to pick (usually deep in some creek brush), and don’t offer a gigantic yield. I may pick a few, should I find them, but I go to the mountains specifically for the gooseberries.
Where do I learn what a gooseberry looks like and the strains that are good to eat and ones to avoid? I am interested in learning about this and have time to do so… Who do I talk with? Where might I go? Do you have any good sources to assist in my learning process?
Please let me know.
tomson, I’ve got “Edible and Useful Plants of California”, but Ms. Funk’s book may also be helpful. The book I use is helpful to a point, but once I’ve got a general idea, I find google to be very, very useful. For example, I googled “sierra gooseberry” pics to double-check. The pictures one gets online are often varied, which helps in identifying. Of course, you have to trust the photographer…
Ms. Funk often has events around native plants – maybe she’ll set up one around gooseberries and currants.
Sierra gooseberries are a very spikey 1/2 to 3/4″ ball – it looks like a tiny morningstar – at it will turn red when ripe. The spikes are tough to deal with (pick them with full leather gloves) and don’t get cooked out, so make a syrup by boiling the berries with sugar, and then straining through a sieve and cheesecloth.
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