Physalis peruviana 'Schönbrunner Gold' - The sweet, XXL snack fruit

Available again: May 26th

Forget the small, often sour physalis from the supermarket! With 'Schönbrunner Gold' you get the absolute premium variety for your garden or balcony. It is characterized by extra-large, bright orange berries and an incomparably sweet, exotic aroma with subtle coconut and pineapple notes. A must-have for all sweet tooths!

Scope of delivery: One young plant in a 7cm pot

Growth & Appearance

• Lifespan: Perennial (if overwintered frost-free), but often cultivated as an annual.

• Growth height: The plant is a true growth wonder and can grow a good 1.5 to 2 meters high and almost as wide!

• Habit: Forms a very strongly branched, sprawling bush. The heart-shaped leaves are softly hairy and feel slightly sticky.

• Flower & Fruit: The typical parchment-like lanterns develop from pretty, yellow flowers with a brown center. Inside, the coveted, cherry-sized, bright orange berries ripen.

Origin The wild form originates from the high altitudes of the South American Andes (Peru, Chile). However, this special elite variety was bred and refined in Austria at the Higher Federal Teaching and Research Institute for Horticulture in Schönbrunn (Vienna).

Ingredients (An IMPORTANT WARNING in advance) The ripe berries are real vitamin bombs, packed with Vitamin C, B vitamins, iron and beta-carotene.

• Caution, nightshade plant: All green parts of the plant and the unripe (still green) berries contain toxic solanine and cause stomach discomfort! Only fully ripe, deep orange fruits should be eaten, once the surrounding calyx has turned light brown and dry.

Usage

• In the kitchen: Straight from the bush into your mouth – there's hardly a better snack fruit! Perfect for fruit salads, as an elegant decoration on desserts and cakes, or cooked down into an incredibly delicious, exotic jam.

• Storage: Thanks to the protective calyx, intact, ripe fruits can often be stored for weeks in a dry, cool place (10 to 15 °C) without spoiling! But beware: damaged fruits mold in no time.

Historical & Curious Facts It owes its second name "Cape gooseberry" to Portuguese seafarers. They brought the plant from South America at the beginning of the 19th century and cultivated it in large quantities at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to prevent the dreaded vitamin deficiency disease scurvy during their long sea voyages.

Location, Care & Gardener Tips (Please do not treat like a tomato!)

• Location: Full sun! The more sun it gets, the sweeter the berries will be.

• Pot size: It needs plenty of space in a pot. A pot with a minimum of 20 to 30 liters volume is essential so that it doesn't tip over with every gust of wind and can store enough water.

• Watering & Fertilizing (Less is more!): It is very thirsty, but extreme caution is advised when fertilizing! Too much nitrogen (fertilizer) will result in it producing only meters of foliage, but hardly any flowers and fruits. Plant it in good soil and then fertilize very sparingly.

• Do not prune! Unlike tomatoes, physalis must under no circumstances be pruned! The flowers develop exactly in the leaf axils of the new shoots. Anyone who snips here will deprive themselves of their harvest.

• Overwintering: Since the plant flowers and ripens late in the year, overwintering is extremely worthwhile! Cut the plant back by about two-thirds before the first frost and place it in a bright, cool location (approx. 10–15 °C). The following year, it will sprout earlier and provide a significantly earlier and gigantic harvest.

Anyone who has once snacked on this variety fresh from their own bush will only laugh sympathetically at the hard, sour mini-balls in plastic trays in the supermarket. The 'Schönbrunner Gold' is not just a physalis – it's a sprawling gummy candy factory on a stick!

The "Schönbrunner Gold Rush" – Quick Physalis-Almond Crumble

If, contrary to expectations, you haven't eaten all the berries directly from the bush after harvesting, this lightning-fast recipe is absolutely amazing. The slight acidity and the coconut-pineapple aroma of the hot physalis melt together with crispy butter crumbles. Highly addictive!

What you need (for 2-3 sweet tooths):

• Approx. 300 g fully ripe 'Schönbrunner Gold' physalis (freed from their husks)

• 1 packet of vanilla sugar

• 100 g flour

• 50 g ground almonds (or hazelnuts)

• 80 g cold butter (in small cubes)

• 50 g sugar

• A pinch of salt

• Optional upgrade: A large scoop of vanilla ice cream!

It's that simple:

1. The liquid gold: Wash the physalis, halve them, and place them in a small, buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the vanilla sugar evenly over them and mix briefly.

2. The crumble escalation: Put the flour, ground almonds, sugar, pinch of salt, and cold butter cubes into a bowl. Now for the best part: Quickly knead everything by hand into thick, rustic crumbles.

3. Cover & Into the oven: Spread the crumbles generously over the halved berries. The whole thing now goes into the preheated oven for approx. 25 minutes at 200 °C (top/bottom heat) until the crumbles are golden brown and crispy and the yellow physalis juice is bubbling enticingly at the edges.

4. The enjoyment: Best served hot! If you add a scoop of ice-cold vanilla ice cream to the warm crumble now, you will have reached absolute dessert heaven.