How to Grow and Use Heirloom Ground Cherries

Reader Contribution by Brenda Lynn
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Aunt Molly’s ground cherry preserves may have occupied a privileged spot in your great-aunt’s pantry, but you’ll be hard pressed to find them nowadays. Ground cherries (Physalis pruinosa) are an endangered heirloom. Their recorded heritage traces back to 1837, when they first appeared in Pennsylvania horticultural literature.

Once commonly grown in backyard gardens, ground cherries somehow lost their way. Though they are ridiculously easy to grow and store, ground cherries are difficult to transport.  Urbanization and the movement away from growing one’s own food led to the demise of this golden gem. The good news is that they can be grown in containers or raised beds, they’re relative pest-free, and they produce abundant fruit from mid-summer through frost.

Ground cherries are really not cherries at all. They are members of the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes and tomatillos. Like the tomatillo, ground cherries grow inside a papery husk. When ripe, ground cherries turn bright yellow and fall to the ground. Though several varieties are native throughout the Americas and Eastern Europe (‘Aunt Molly’ is a Polish variety), ground cherries taste like tropical treats. Their pineapple — vanilla flavor brightens pies, jams, and chutneys. They are equally delicious eaten raw, dried, or cooked. Squirrels and small children are keen to ground cherries’ charms, so gardeners should keep a close look-out for ripe, fallen fruit.

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