Barbados Gooseberry Fruit

     Barbados Gooseberry fruit       

      Barbados Gooseberry - pereskia aculeate

   Barbados gooseberry is a Woody shrub when young, but grows into climbing, leafy cactus, with branches are up to 10m (30 ft) long. It has fragrant flowers which can be lemon, sweet, or repulsive smelling and round yellow-red berries.  Other names are Tsunya, lemon vine, pereskia, blade apple cactus, surinam gooseberry, west Indian gooseberry, spanish gooseberry, sweet mary and leaf cactus.

The Barbados gooseberry is believed to be indigenous to the West Indies, coastal northern South America and Panama. It is seldom found truly wild but is frequently grown as an ornamental or occasionally for its fruits in the American tropics, Bermuda, California, Hawaii, Israel, Philippines, India and Australia. In many areas it has escaped from cultivation and become thoroughly naturalized.

       Barbados gooseberries are seldom found growing truly wild today, but are commercially or domestically grown for their ornamental nature, as well as for their fruit and leaves. Barbados gooseberries thrive in a humid climate and in low elevations.

         The plant is an erect woody shrub when young, becoming, with age, scrambling or climbing and vinelike, with branches up to 30 ft (10 m) long that may shroud a large tree. Spines on the trunk are long, slender, in groups; those on the branches are short, recurved, usually in pairs. The deciduous, alternate, short-petioled, waxy leaves are elliptic, 3 -10 cm long, sometimes fleshy. To some people, the flowers are lemon-scented; others say sweet and pungent in odour; still others, of unpleasant or repulsive odour. They are borne profusely in panicles or corymbs; are white, yellowish or pink-tinted. 

        This fruits are round or oval in shape, averaging 1-2 centimeters in diameter, and they are identified by their golden yellow or deep orange hues. Their thin, smooth skin houses soft, juicy, opaque flesh with inedible, soft brown or black seeds. Barbados gooseberries have high acidity, and are quite tart in taste. This cactus plant begins its life as a leafy shrub and then uses vine-like branches to climb and expand. Spines can be found on the branches along with the fruit, and the leaves are fleshy and edible.

       This fruits can be used in both raw and cooked applications. They are most popularly enjoyed in sweetened syrups and jams, where the fruits are stewed and preserved with sugar. A popular gooseberry pairing is to cook it down with sugar and water to create a compote that can be use in a variety of main dishes and accompaniments. This compote compliments chutneys, sorbets, and even savory sauces and salads. Keep these perishable fruits in the refrigerator. 

       Barbados gooseberries have high nutritional content in both the fruit and leaves. The fruit is a good source of vitamin A, and it contains high water content. It also offers a low amount of calcium, protein, and phosphorus. The leaves have been found to be an excellent source of protein, and they contain iron, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

        In Brazil, this tree plays a vital role in local cooking. The leaves are the most typical cooking ingredient because of their high nutritional content and are most often found in savory dishes. These leaves are also used for medicinal purposes including fighting inflammation and can help soften and soothe skin when directly applied.  In rural Brazil, they are important as food for humans and livestock. 

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