During our last event, we used gooseberry as a garnish and through several conversations with our guests, I was asked the question; how else can it be used? I have always thought of physalis as a relative to gooseberry but during a little digging, I found more interesting information about it.
The fruit is small and orange with a similar shape and structure to a small tomato. There are about 75-90 species, which are indigenous to the New World, mostly to Mexico and Colombia. Physalis has several different names such as cape gooseberry, ground cherry, poha berries, and golden berries.
Not all species of physalis bear edible fruit. Several of them are cultivated for their edible fruit whilst some are grown for cross cultivation. Cape gooseberries have a strawberry and pineapple-like flavor varying from sweet to savory based on their species.
Physalis is used instead of tomatoes, eaten raw, in salads, in desserts, fruit purees, or dried and used like raisins. We have tried several ways to use these gooseberries for cocktails and this one is my favorite.
Kykolis Collins
45 ml London dry gin
25 ml fresh lemon juice
20 ml Kykolis syrup*
Soda water
1. Combine all ingredients in a tall glass and gently stir over ice. 2. Top up with soda water.
3. Garnish with physalis and slice of orange.
Kykolis Syrup
1. Cut and combine 400g physalis with 600g of sugar and 300g still water and sous vide at 65C for 2 hours. 2. Once cooked, chill and strain the syrup of the fruit, bottle, and keep refrigerated.
