I love the taste of ground cherries, but I’m the only one in my house that does. I don’t have nary a one ripe yet. I’ve been trying to keep an eye on the plants to make sure I catch the first ripe one of the year. Seems like the plants are extry slow about ripening this year.
Over the years I’ve written about ground cherries more than a few times. I even made a video about them—you can see it here.
More than a few Blind Pig readers have shared their memories of ground cherries with me over the years.
Ken Roper: On the way to the field or garden, Daddy, Me and Harold, would go possum hunting almost every night. Me and Harold was always Hungry, so Daddy would take us to a place in the garden where Ground Cherries were Plentiful. We thought the things were Poison, but Daddy knew. He was the Best Daddy in the World and we thought he knew Everything. He’d take us to the upper end of the Big Garden where we had three Percimmon Trees. ( they was so sour, they’d make a pig squeel, before they were ripe.) They were Ripe and posseums were always in them. Daddy taught us to line-up the possums with the moon, if it was out, so we could see the sights on the gun better. If no moon, Daddy would have one of us Boys to shimmy up and knock that Ole Posseum out to the ground where the Fiests were waiting. It’s been many years since then, but Daddy always said ” Nothing Lasts Forever.”
Shirl: Mom always had a garden and that garden always had ground cherries. They were volunteers that came up randomly in the corn patch and provided great snacks as we hoed. I really don’t know how to describe their taste either. I would say they they taste fruity, more like a plum than pineapple. I ordered some seeds from a catalog about ten years ago hoping to get a start of volunteers but they only produced one year.
Bill Burnett: Growing up I could hardly wait for the Ground Cherries to ripen, when the husk turns brown and the fruit turns a golden color they are wonderful, if you eat them before they turn golden they do not taste good, this may be the reason some folks do not like them.
Journeys10: I grew up in a culture that knew ground cherries well when I was a kid. People either liked them or they didn’t. I have fond memories of ground cherry pies though most of my siblings do not like it.
Darel Meadows: I have ate ground cherys since I was a kid, more than 50 years. For a real treat, make jam out of them. Just make it like you would from berries. My mom learned me to make it years ago.
Rudy: I was introduced to ground cherries about 4 years ago after moving to the Dahlonega area of Northeast Georgia. My neighbor Nancy pointed them out when she came over to get some things from my garden. They’re delicious if harvested at the right time. Each berry is loaded with seeds.
PinnacleCreek: As a child I often joined a group of cousins and young uncles along a dirt road eating different wild berries and also the ground cherries and Mayapple. We also raided many rhubarb patches eating the stalks raw, and I was surprised when I learned later how toxic the leaves are. It is my habit to sometimes research what I read about in your blog, It seems the Mayapple plant is very toxic except for fruit once it ripens. We ate loads of green apples, and speaking from experience that did something we called “edging our teeth” and sometimes resulted in a stomach ache. I have not heard of teeth getting edged since those long ago days when we ate one too many green apples. As far as I know we all survived even eating something we called sour weed. We learned this from other children back then. I never really cared for the taste of the ground cherries or Maypples, but some of the kids loved them. I am so glad to see in your blog such a variety of everything that makes up Appalachia.
Margie: Good sliced in half and mixed with grated carrots and mayo.
Kimberly Burnette-Dean: I love ground cherries! I have not had one in years, but they used to grow all around the edges of our garden when I was growing up. Grandma used to make ground cherry jelly from them.
Ed Ammons: I have eaten ground cherries and don’t particularly like them. They have a tropical fruit flavor to me which I find tolerable but given other choices I would as soon pass. There are some in my garden but they have a tendency to vine and fall over.
Ground cherries are members of the nightshade family as are potatoes, tomatoes, tomatilloes eggplant and peppers. Have you ever seen potato seed pods? They look like ground cherries without the husk.
When I was a kid on Wiggins Creek we have ground cherries aplenty. We also had a plant that looked like them but grew on a stalk and the fruit was bigger. Mommy warned us not to eat them. She called them nightshade and said they were poison.
If you don’t want ground cherries, feeding them to the chickens are not a good idea. They are like tomatoes in that the seeds germinate best if they have passed through the digestive tract of an animal. Like tommytoes they also do well in a mulch pile. Even compost that didn’t get hot enough is a good medium for them.
Jackie: I ate them as a kid and enjoyed them. My wife says I’ll eat anything. I eat a lot of things my parents and grandparents taught me about. I guess the only thing I turn down is my shirt collar.
Last night’s video: Garden Tour – What Worked & What Didn’t.
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I’ve never heard of it…ty..for..the…post.
I start seeds in the house, but had to contrive a method because my house is chilly in spring (some seeds need at least 70 degree temp to germinate). Heat mat and plastic domes brought success for ground cherries. Now have four big beautiful plants. I love these things and always say I can taste the nightshade in them. Some wild species were growing around here, but have been eradicated.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ground cherry. The way the taste is described I think I would like it–love the tropical flavors. I am thinking about yall every day and saying a prayer for Miss Grannie. We lost another dear cousin this week–another cancer victim.
I have fond memories of ground cherries in Grandma’s garden. Have not had one in many a year. Even ordered and planted seed but didn’t work. I have posted this before but Grandma had some large purple ones I have never seen anywhere else. I have no idea where they came from nor even if she knew.
Ground cherries grow wild here. Like your family, I’m not really a fan. To me they taste too much like pineapple. I don’t like pineapple.
I’ve never heard of ground cherries. This is one of the reasons I appreciate your videos and this blog – I learn something new! Prayers for all. Take care and God bless ❣️
I don’t think I have ever tried ground cherries. They look good. Prayers still going up for Granny. God Bless you all.
What a timely post! I was chatting with my partner about ground cherries earlier this week – she had never heard of them. I ate them as a child and liked them. I didn’t necessarily like the “sawbriars” that usually accompanied them though. If you have extra, send them my way so she can try the 🙂
I’ve seen those all my life but always thought they might be poisonous. I gonna find some and try them.
Last year was the first time I heard about Ground Cherries from you and then from another YouTube channel I watch. I could never find them in my area to try but when I visited my sister in Ohio we found some at her local Farmers Market. I bought a pint basket to take back to her house so all the family could try them. As it turned out I, nor my sister cared that much for them and our husbands wouldn’t try them because they looked like miniature tomatillos. However, my nephew seemed to like them a lot since he ate almost the whole little basket. I guess they might be like cilantro, some people like the taste and some don’t.
Somehow I missed ground cherries. Didn’t know there was such a thing. Our wild-grown edibles were poke, persimmons, and muscadines, although we did eat may apple meats occasionally.
I have never even heard of ground cherries before reading about them on your blog. I would definitely try them though. I watched your garden tour video this morning. It’s fun to “walk” around with you and see everything in your gardens and beds. Our garden is very wet and muddy after a few hard rains. We are finally getting lots of tomatoes and cucumbers. I will keep your family and your mama in my prayers.
I have never ate a ground cherry. It seems like I remember something from my childhood that may have been volunteer ground cherries but was told they were poisonous, do not eat them. Another thing from my childhood were “maypops” and I also remember being told they were poisonous. It has been many years since I have saw a maypop. I have thought about buying some ground cherry seed and giving them a try. I have plenty of room to try growing different things, but between the deer and the dry summers that are becoming more of the norm around here, I just feel like there is no use. I talked with my “sweet potato friend” yesterday -he grows more more produce to sell than potatoes, he told me he has had more trouble with deer this year than ever before.
He has permits to kill the deer out of season and will kill all he is allowed to kill each year. This may no longer be true, but SC once had the longest deer season of any other state. Deer season opens next week on August 15 in lower SC and will be open until January 1. The deer along with turkeys are the “bread and butter” for the SCDNR.
I love seeing all the different stories about ground cherries! I first heard about them in Tippers video about them. Hope to try it one of these days. Continued prayers for Granny and your family Tipper.
I am glad to know what they are called. I had never heard of them until 2011-12 when my husband was working in Montreal, Canada. Someone he worked with gave him some. I liked them & thought they looked like little paper lanterns. They had another name for them (probably in French) that I couldn’t remember. I thought they tasted similar to plums.
When I was growing up the garden had ground cherries that came up year after year. My mother made ground cherry pie. It was my favorite. I don’t remember eating them raw.
I,’very never had ground cherries but would try them if I ever had access. I live all the stories surrounding them! last night’s video tour of your garden was fun! You have an abundant harvest regardless of the no time for all work you usually put in! Praying for Granny and all of you. .❤❤
I have been hearing about ground cherries, but have never seen or eaten one. I will have to fins them and try.
I loved your ‘garden tour’ last night. I have seen and heard so many different comments about how and why some of the plants are not acting or growing like they have in the past. Some tomatoes that have grown well in the past are not doing well this year. I don’t know if it is the rain or fertilizer or too much sun or not enough sun or what. Things just don’t seem to be as they have usually been. Go figure. Hope some of the cards are bringing a smile to Granny, she is a Gem for sure. Be well…God Bless you guys.