UK: Gooseberry reliant on older generation

Rain has delayed the start of the gooseberry season in the UK, Terry Jilham from Winterwood Farms in Kent said they will start picking when the rain stops. Probably tomorrow or Wednesday. The timing of the season is obviously dependent on the weather but this seems to be quite a normal season for gooseberries.

Gooseberries are still reliant on the older generation for demand according to Terry, and haven't really taken off with the 'trendy' fruit such as the blueberry or the every popular strawberry. There are two types of gooseberry, one for cooking and one for dessert. The dessert ones are more reddish in colour.

The berry is not grown in massive volumes in the UK and there is not a big demand or a lot of money in the gooseberry. Terry said it is something they have always done and will keep doing it but don't expect a huge increase in demand."

Winterwood Farms does about 80 tonnes of gooseberries and the total UK crop is around 200 tonnes.

Gooseberries are sold in the supermarkets, but don't get much shelf space compared to the other softfruit.