News

Sales of Scottish Gooseberries Soar at Waitrose

12 Aug 2008

It seems like the humble gooseberry has stepped out of the shadows and taken on the soft fruit heavyweights.

Sales of this furry fruit which is grown in Perthshire for Waitrose’s food stores across the UK, have risen by up to 91% year on year, according to the supermarket.

Waitrose is attributing the dramatic comeback to the versatility of this full-flavoured fruit together with greater awareness among British consumers of eating seasonally. Despite their prickly reputation, gooseberries are well-suited to a summer of unpredictable weather. Perfect for summer desserts such as fools and fruit salads they are also a good match for colder weather classics like crumbles and pies. Their tartness even provides a delicious counterpoint to rich meats and smoked fish.

Recent endorsements by top-name chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall, who featured gooseberry granita on his latest programme ‘River Cottage Spring’, have also contributed to the growth in demand.

Waitrose, which stocks *gooseberries from a dedicated grower in Perthshire, has seen sales of cooking gooseberries increase by 91% and the later season dessert gooseberries up 51% compared with last year.

Says Waitrose Fruit Buyer, Nicki Baggott, “Gooseberries have been the surprise hit of the summer. With shoppers taking more of an interest in what's in season, the revival of this traditional garden fruit has made it popular among a younger generation of cooks.

"Not only do they taste delicious but their culinary uses seem to to span both extremes of the British summertime - from comforting crumbles and pies to refreshing fools and granitas. "

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Notes to Editors

1.* Cooking Gooseberries are the most recognisible. Hairy and green in colour, the berries are sour so need sweetening. Dessert Gooseberries are reddish in colour. Sweet when fully ripe, they can be eaten raw.

2. Gooseberries are available from June to August. The cooking gooseberry season has now finished so make the most of dessert gooseberries, which are available in Waitrose until late August.

3. Gooseberries are a rich source of fibre as well as vitamins A and C.