Bringing Back Ground Cherries

As many of our market customers have discovered, we at 2 Acre Farm enjoy growing unusual and unique produce, such as Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries. Have you heard of them? We hadn't, or at least not until we ordered the seed. We knew it would be a gamble to plant them in the first place, seeing as we had no idea what they would taste like (with the exception of the seed description, which can sometimes be deceiving) or how adventurous the market goers would be (which proved to be a valid concern. Since introducing them only two people at the market, thus far, have even known what they are). From the start we had an idea that we would need to educate our customers on eating and using them. Which we did... and of course it doesn't hurt to give out samples. So for the past few weeks we have been doing this and to our delight they are catching on.

It has been very exciting to create a sort of mini market for such an obscure but wonderful fruit. What also makes this exciting is their placement on Slow Food USA’s endangered foods list called “Ark of Taste”. So we have gotten a real sense of accomplishment by helping preserve a piece of agriculture.

Of course I can’t mention our ground cherries without talking about what they are used for.

First it must be understood that their best quality is their ability to be eaten raw as is (well without the husk of course), in salads like cherry tomatoes, in fruit salads, or any other way you can dream up. Since they have high pectin content they are an excellent candidate for jams, jellies, pies, and tarts. They are also used as a substitute for mango or pineapple in sweet salsa. Search the internet and you will find plenty of recipes. By the way...these little gems only contain 72 calories per cup and are full of vitamins!








Pictured: (left) Once the Ground Cherries turn a yellowish color they are ready to pick. If they aren't picked in time the huskes will preserve the fruit as they lay on the ground, even becoming sweeter as the husk dries. (right) A Ground Cherry pie baked by Aimee's grandmother, aka "Momadee".