Ground Cherry Jam...

Brynwood Needleworks - Ground Cherry Jam

 
Yesterday was another busy day in the kitchen. Andy and Shelly grew ground cherries this year. Shelly bought the plants when we went together to the nursery in New Holstein this spring, and the plants were very prolific! She was generous enough to share the bounty, and there were enough fruits for both of us to can jam! I tackled the task yesterday.

First - Remove The Husks

The process began the day before. My task was to remove all the husks to reveal the tasty fruit. For those of you who are not familiar with them, they are a member of the tomato family, and are part of the same branch as tomatillos (also having this papery outer layer). That husk needs to come off, and it takes a while! (HERE'S a link for more information about the ground cherry.) They taste citrusy to me, and they're about the size of grapes.

Husking Ground Cherries

Husking them is a process. They look like little Japanese lanterns with the papery outer covering. I begin by opening up the husk, holding it back at the end of the cherry, and then popping the little nub at the end of the fruit - and the husk - off together. It's not difficult, but it does take time. See those two trays of cherries in the second picture?  Those are all the cherries Sherry brought down for us. It took me two hours to remove all the husks from all the fruit.

Sorting Ripe From Toxic Ground Cherries

When I shared that photo on Facebook yesterday, my stepsister, Sher, sent a private message to me, to tell me that the green (unripe) fruit was toxic. She invited me to "Google it", if I didn't believe her. I did believe her as she's very knowledgeable about such things.

I was looking for a good recipe anyway, so I looked up the toxicity of the plant while I was online. Yes. She's right. Everything about the ground cherry is toxic (it's a member of the "nightshade" family), except the RIPE fruit.

So, I spent another 15 minutes picking out the green ones, which I then threw out. Then I went looking for a recipe, and THIS is the one I used to make the jam. I did remove one cup of sugar, from the specified quantity. I didn't want it quite that sweet.

The husked cherries amounted to just over four pounds, and there were enough to make two batches. One little caveat: If you intend to cook with ground cherries, know that I followed this recipe (aside from the sugar part) to a "t". I ground the cherries in my food processor and then threw the whole chopped mix into the pan. As soon as it was slightly aerated, it smelled like very strong skunk!! Honestly, I thought one had been hit - or threatened - on the road. By the time I shook my head and said, "Oh, dear. Skunk!", the aroma of Pepe Le Pew was gone. It didn't come back again at any time during the cooking process...and thankfully didn't linger into the finished concoction.

All in all, I canned 4-12 ounce jars, and 12-4 oz. jars of jam. It tastes wonderful, with a hint of citrus from the berries, augmented by the half cup of added lemon juice. I'll definitely do this again - and perhaps grow my own ground cherries next year!

After all was said and done (and the kitchen cleaned with Handsome's help), I put my feet up and enjoyed a good cuppa tea and some needlework. No. I haven't forgotten about the weekly minis. I only have two more to go and then, I'll be finished. You'll see photos when all twelve are done.

I'm also making a gift for a young Birthday boy, but I won't show photos of that until after his party on the weekend. Don't want snoopy snoops to see it before then! Time's a wasting. See you tomorrow!