Fruits
Gooseberry in gelato
Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) is a tart, translucent European berry that is about 88% water with only ~6% sugars, making it a low-sugar, high-acid fruit purée for bright, sharp sorbetto and fruit gelato.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 12% |
| Water | 88% |
| Sugars | 6% |
| Fat | 0.6% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 0.9% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 7 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 11 |
Typical use: Typically 25-40% of the recipe as purée in a gooseberry sorbetto; 15-25% in a milk-based gooseberry gelato.
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Gooseberry is used as a fresh or cooked purée in sorbetto and fruit gelato. Because it carries only about 6g sugar per 100g, most of its freezing-point depression (PAC ~11) and sweetening power (POD ~7) come from its fructose-dominant sugar mix rather than sucrose, so the recipe's added sugars still drive most of the balance. Its high malic/citric acidity gives a clean, sharp finish and helps set fruit character, but demands extra recipe sugar to keep the mix from freezing too hard and to round off the tartness. It contributes almost no fat or milk solids, so it behaves as a water-and-acid ingredient in the balance.
Origin & background
The gooseberry is native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia and has been cultivated in Britain since at least the 16th century. It became a national obsession during the 1800s, when hundreds of competitive 'gooseberry clubs' in northern England held shows to grow the heaviest berry, a tradition that survives in villages such as Egton Bridge, Yorkshire.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173030/nutrients (USDA FoodData Central, Gooseberries raw, SR Legacy #173030: water 87.87g, carbohydrate 10.18g, fiber 4.3g, protein 0.88g, fat 0.58g per 100g)
- https://www.aprifel.com/en/nutritional-sheet/gooseberry/ (Aprifel / French CIQUAL: water 87.9g, available carbohydrate 4.88g, protein 0.75g, fat 0.59g, fiber 4.03g per 100g; 'low in sugar, <5g')
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6472321/ (Tissue biochemical diversity of 20 gooseberry cultivars: fructose ~49%, glucose ~40.5%, sucrose ~10% of total sugars)
- https://tools.myfooddata.com/nutrition-facts/173030/wt1 (USDA 173030 mirror: net carbohydrate 5.88g/100g)