Gooseberry fool

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ pounds Gooseberries; tart green
Ones preferably
1½ ounce Butter
55929 7. Typed by Heiko Ebeling.
Sugar
6 ounces Double cream
4 ounces Single cream

Directions

Remove the tops and the tails from the gooseberries. Melt the butter in a pan, add the fruit and 4 heaped tablespoons of sugar. Cover the pan closely and simmer gently until the gooseberries are yellow and soft enough to be crushed. Pour into a measuring jug. Put an equal amount of cream into a bowl and whisk until thick. Mix in the gooseberries and adjust the sweetening to taste. Serve in small bowls with almond biscuits or sponge fingers.

Many people think that "fool" comes from the French verb "fouler", to crush, which is what one does to the gooseberries in this recipe.

Unfortunately, etymologists insist that it is a humorous name, like trifle, and whim-wham, which also means trifle.

Source: Jane Grigson (ed.): The World Atlas of Food. A Gourmet's Guide to the Great Regional Dishes of the World. Mitchell Beazley Publishers 1974. This edition: Spring Books, London 1988. ISBN 0 600 Submitted By HEIKO EBELING On 05-08-95

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