I made a double-score this weekend. Out in the garden, I found little red nuggets hiding under my sprawling, uncaged cherry tomato plants (and a few yellow ones, thanks to garden mates!), and while at the Edmonds Farmers Market on Saturday, I came across a childhood favorite, ground cherries, also sometimes called husk tomatoes.
What's a ground cherry? There's a strong resemblance to a tomatillo, but the husks are a creamy color and the berry inside is golden, with a sweet-tart taste that I remember so well but can't really describe. My grandfather grew them just for me, usually out near our driveway. I could eat handfuls at a time and never grow tired of them. They're typically ripe in late summer, early fall, just like tomatoes.
I've looked for ground cherries over the years but until this weekend, hadn't found the fruit anywhere. A couple of years ago, I found some seeds in a heritage seed catalog, and even after careful planting indoors, nothing grew. The woman at the Farmers Market (and no, I have no idea which farm they came from now...) said they don't typically grow here, but I find that odd since they grew in our Ballard garden throughout my early years. Could the climate have changed that much?
My fondness for ground cherries must resemble Forrest's fondness for boiled peanuts. I've mentioned them to him more times than I can count, but until this weekend, he's never tasted them. He liked them!
