They may sound like something straight out of Willy Wonka, but I assure you, gooseberries are very real. These little round green berries (they also come in pink, though these are rarer) come from a bush native to Europe and North Africa, though they also grow wild in the northeaster U.S., California and Canada. They are a little bit difficult to find in the U.S., but when in season - June through August - those of us living near good produce markets may be in luck.
Gooseberries are usually too puckery to eat raw (though they're quite tasty dried), so you'll normally see them in pies and tarts. Epicurious has a recipe for gooseberry pie, using little more than sugar and a bit of tapioca. Or you could do as the English do an try a gooseberry fool - gooseberries cooked with sugar and layered with cream.
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