How to know if physalis is ripe. Physalis berries are not only tasty - they are very important for health
Physalis, a photo of which you have probably seen more than once, belongs to There are only two edible species - vegetable and strawberry physalis. The plant is also known as Peruvian gooseberry, strawberry tomato and ground cherry, or cranberry. Ornamental physalis is another variety of plant that cannot be eaten, however, having grown it on the site, you can use it as a decorative element in or for making bouquets. This article will tell you how to grow this useful and very original plant. It also contains several recipes for preparing various dishes from physalis.
Physalis, what is it: a berry or a vegetable?
Many gardeners who have just decided to get acquainted with physalis do not know which genus to classify this plant as: berries or vegetables? After all, care and cultivation will depend on which group it belongs to. What exactly is physalis? According to its biological structure, the plant is classified as a berry, but most summer residents know it as a vegetable. But in fact, it is not so important what exactly this wonderful product is, because its beauty and benefits are much more important than all this. So, we figured out the generic affiliation of the physalis species. What does this plant represent in terms of decorative and nutritional value? We'll talk about this a little later, but now let's get acquainted with the external characteristics of the plant.
What does physalis look like?
How do you know that the flower you are offered to buy is definitely physalis? What kind of plant is this and what structural features does it have? To begin with, it is worth remembering that not many varieties and types of physalis can be purchased in the form of a potted crop. This plant is quite large: berry varieties reach 60 cm in height and have a creeping stem, while vegetable varieties grow up to one and a half meters. The leaves of most physalis varieties are oval, with slightly serrated edges. The flowers are small, pale yellow, with dark spots in the center, located at the base of young shoots. Even decorative physalis cannot boast of bright inflorescences. But the yellow or bright orange fruits, hidden inside the bright lantern, which is the pericarp, are remembered for a long time. Depending on the variety, the color of the boxes with the fruit inside can vary from pale yellow to bright red. There are also varieties that differ in blue or other color of the berries.
Physalis varieties
The most common varieties of edible physalis are Peruvian and raisin, which are popularly known as vegetable and berry. A large number of other varieties can also be bought at any store, but these two have gained immense popularity among summer residents. Raisin physalis, a photo of which you can see below, is small in size and is loved by many gardeners for its compactness. It is this quality that allows it to be grown as a potted crop. Peruvian physalis is a very large plant, so it is unlikely to be grown indoors. In order for the harvest to ripen in mid-summer, raisin physalis must be planted 3-4 months before the expected harvest date, and Peruvian physalis even earlier - 5 months or more. Physalis grown in seedlings produces abundant harvests starting in mid-July.
The size of physalis fruits varies, it primarily depends on the variety:
- Berry varieties of physalis are always smaller than vegetable varieties. Thus, the fruit of strawberry physalis reaches a weight of 6-10 g. Other berry varieties are even smaller, their weight is on average 1-4 g.
- The largest-fruited among the vegetable varieties of physalis are considered to be Moskovsky early (up to 80 g), Large-fruited (up to 90 g) and Gruntovy Gribovsky (up to 60 g).
- Ornamental varieties of physalis have the smallest fruits - up to 2 g, but their amniotic cup size is the largest of all varieties and species.
Planting physalis
What do you need to know when growing physalis? That this plant is not as whimsical as it might seem at first glance. Despite its decorative and very unusual appearance for garden crops, the method of cultivation of physalis is similar to the ordinary and familiar tomato. The best place on the site for its successful growth and fruiting is chosen in the same way as for tomatoes. Physalis is less demanding in relation to the amount of sunlight than other nightshades. The scheme for planting physalis in open ground depends on what type of variety it is: for vegetable physalis, 70x70 cm is suitable, and for berry physalis - 60x60 cm. When grown in greenhouses and if there are trellises, you can plant physalis according to the scheme 50x70 cm (vegetable) or 30x70 ( berry). It is better to plant physalis seedlings in the ground or greenhouse during the same period as tomatoes. Particular attention should be paid to watering: in the first week, it is necessary to moisten the soil abundantly, making sure that a crust does not form on it.
Plant care and formation
During plant growth, it is important to keep the bed clean from weeds, because close proximity to them can affect the development of the physalis bush. Ground cranberries or physalis do not need watering from the second half of summer, and are also not susceptible to various diseases characteristic of other nightshades. The plant practically does not need to form a bush, since the more it branches, the greater the harvest you can get from it. This was influenced by exactly where the flowers are located. Physalis (photos of it are presented in the review) must be regularly pinched for better branching.
Chemical composition of fruits
Surely many of the readers will be interested in what nutritional value is characteristic of such a crop as physalis, what does this plant represent as a food product? It is worth immediately paying attention to the fact that vegetable and berry physalis can be eaten, but decorative physalis is not suitable for this due to the small size of the berries and their low nutritional value. The fruits contain B vitamins (1, 2, 6 and 12), acids (malic, citric, succinic and many others), antioxidants, polyphenols, tannin and glucose. Despite such a variety of nutrients, the calorie content of physalis is low and amounts to only 53 kcal for every 100 berries. This is what makes the fruits of this plant an excellent vitamin and dietary product.
The benefits and harms of physalis
The effect of the plant's fruits on the human body depends on how physalis is eaten - raw or cooked. When prepared, physalis fruits act as an excellent diuretic and choleretic agent, which helps not only reduce the risk of stones in the kidneys and gall bladder, but also get rid of existing stones. In addition, physalis has a mild analgesic, immunostimulating and anti-inflammatory effect. These properties of the product will be useful to those who have suffered a serious and long-term illness. Raw physalis fruits restore the normal functioning of the endocrine glands, and also promote recovery from hypertension, dysentery, gastrointestinal diseases and pyelonephritis.
The main contraindication to the use of physalis is individual intolerance to the product.
Use of physalis in cooking
Physalis can be used to prepare a wide variety of dishes: salads, hot and cold appetizers, desserts, pickles and even wine. The main rule is to always remove the capsule from the fruit, because this part of the plant is poisonous. The largest number of recipes using physalis are devoted to making jam. The fact is that both vegetable and berry physalis have a piquant flavor that goes well with many berries and fruits. In addition, physalis in jam can also be combined with zucchini, ginger and pumpkin.
As part of first and second courses, physalis can generally be used as a decoration or main component. It makes great-tasting casseroles, soups and sauces. To prepare snacks, in particular salads, you can use both fresh physalis berries and salted and even soaked fruits.
What to cook with physalis?
Here are some simple recipes for preparing physalis at home.
- Physalis compote. To prepare it, you will need well-washed and peeled physalis berries, sugar and water, a little citric acid, vanillin, and ginger to taste. First you need to prepare the syrup, for which you mix sugar and water in equal proportions and bring the mixture to a boil. Physalis fruits, boiled in advance for 5 minutes, are cooled in cold water and dipped in syrup (200 g of berries per 1 liter of syrup). After boiling, add citric acid and other flavoring additives.
- Potato and physalis casserole. Peeled and washed physalis berries (about 500 g) are cut in half or left whole, depending on their size. Potatoes (500 g) are peeled, washed and cut into pieces corresponding to the size of the physalis. Mix the vegetables in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Then add leeks (200 g) cut into half rings and a little greenery to the mixture. The mixture is placed in a baking dish and placed in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 200-210 degrees. Then you need to pour any sauce over the almost finished vegetables and sprinkle with 150 g of grated hard cheese, leave in the oven at a temperature of 210-220 degrees until fully cooked.
3. The preparation of this product is not much different from pickling, for example, cucumbers. For 1 kg of berries you will need about 30 g of dill, 5 g of horseradish, garlic and red hot pepper in pods, as well as a salt solution prepared at the rate of 50 g of salt per liter of water. The physalis and seasonings placed in a container are carefully poured with brine and left at room temperature for about a week, after which it is necessary to drain and boil the brine, then pour it hot again into the container with the berries. You can use salted physalis as an independent dish, as well as as a component of many salads.
Physalis vulgaris (vesicle, dog cherry, marunka) is a perennial plant from the nightshade family, 50-100 cm high. The underground shoots of physalis are creeping, woody, and branching. Its stems are erect. angular-curved. The leaves are opposite, thin, ovate, entire, slightly toothed.
The flowers are solitary, white or cream-colored, located in the axils of the leaves. The calyx is campanulate, with triangular or lanceolate teeth. The fruit is a spherical, juicy, orange or red berry, enclosed in a fiery orange, swollen, vesicular berry. an almost spherical calyx, thanks to which the plant got its name physalis from the Greek word “physo”, which means swollen. The plant blooms in May - August. The fruits ripen in June - September. It grows everywhere in light forests, among bushes, on forest edges, and in ravines.
Physalis is widespread in Bulgaria and Iraq. Cultivated in Russia, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, Central Asia and other regions.
Nutritional value per 100 grams:
Useful properties of physalis
Physalis fruits contain 10% dry matter and up to 4.5% sugar. 0.7-1.4% organic acids (mainly citric acid, as well as malic, tartaric and succinic), bitter substance, traces of a non-toxic alkaloid, 45-100 mg of ascorbic acid, 0.1 carotene, up to 0.45/about pectin and other gelling agents substances, red dye physalin, minerals, phytoncides and up to 2.5% proteins.
Physalis is rightly considered a medicinal plant. Its fruits have a diuretic, choleretic, hemostatic, antiseptic and analgesic effect. They are used for rheumatism, diseases of the respiratory system, dropsy, gout, purulent inflammation of the urinary pelvis and urinary tract, lichen and other diseases.
Physalis fruits are used fresh in food. Before use, they must be doused with boiling water to remove the waxy sticky coating. Ripe fruits are recommended as a dietary product. They are sweet and sour, with a specific bitterness. They are added to salads, vegetable soups and canned vegetables. Boiled fruits are used as a seasoning for main courses; baked fruits are first passed through a meat grinder, and then caviar is prepared from them. From the fruits of physalis you can make jam, prepare juices, and dry them.
The fruits, fruit juice and roots are used for medicinal purposes. The roots are harvested in the fall.
Alkaloids were found in the roots: tegloidine, 3-tigloploxytropane, cushygrin, tropine, pseudotropine. The leaves contain carotenoids: alpha-carotene, physoxanthin, lutein, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin ester, lutein ester; steroids: sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, cholesterol, isofucosterol; phenolcarboxylic acids and their derivatives: chlorogenic; flavonoids: luteolin, luteolin 7-beta-D-glucoside. Carbohydrates and related compounds are found in fruits: sugars, pectin; organic acids, carotenoids: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, and in the seeds - fatty oil (14.86%). In addition, ascorbic acid, tannins, macro- and microelements, and carotene were found in the fruits.
The fruits of Physalis vulgaris have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, analgesic, hemostatic, diuretic, and choleretic effects.
A decoction or water infusion of the fruit is taken for urolithiasis, cystitis, hepatitis, bronchitis, intermittent fever, edema, ascites, rheumatism, gout, and bruises.
Fresh fruits and juice are used for dermatoses, respiratory diseases, gonorrhea, dysentery, and hypertension.
In folk medicine of Central Asia, physalis fruits are widely used in the treatment of anemia, hypertension, and are also recommended for people suffering from senile constipation. For this purpose, patients are recommended to eat fresh fruits - 5-10 pieces 2-3 times a day before meals. Patients suffering from hypertension benefit from tea made from dried leaves and fruit caps.
In Bulgarian folk medicine, a decoction of physalis fruits is used for rheumatism, gout, jaundice, hemorrhages, gastrointestinal colic, as a diuretic for difficulty urinating and in the treatment of hemorrhoids. Physalis fruits are useful for cholecystitis.
Tajiks of Garma boil fresh juice and pulp from the fruits of physalis mixed with milk over low heat and give it to children to treat sore throat, laryngitis and stomatitis. The Tabibs claim that if a patient with laryngitis is given this mixture 3-4 times a day every day
3-4 tablespoons for 4-5 days, complete recovery occurs, and periodic intake of this mixture prevents relapses.
According to the literature, physalis fruits were used for diseases of the digestive tract, respiratory system and endocrine system.
Ibn Sina believed that the medicinal properties of the fruits and leaves of physalis are similar to nightshade. He recommended consuming fresh fruits for bronchial asthma, inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, jaundice, for the treatment of ulcers, and urinary tract diseases.
In modern medicine, physalis fruits are used as a multivitamin and dietary remedy for patients with hypoacid gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic cholecystitis, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Only ripe fruits should be used. It is recommended to consume small fruits 10-15 pieces at a time, and large ones - 4-8 pieces 10-15 minutes before meals. Patients with high acidity of gastric juice should consume a 2-fold smaller dose immediately before meals, gradually increasing the number of berries to 8-15 as they feel better.
In homeopathy, physalis fruits are used for urolithiasis.
Ointment from the fruits of physalis is used externally for inflammatory processes, as an anesthetic, for rheumatic and gouty pain and as a wound healing agent that enhances tissue regeneration. The juice of the fruit is used in Crimean folk medicine for lichen.
Ripe physalis fruits are consumed fresh as fruit. They are used for canning, making sauces, jams, candied fruits, marinades, and pickles. They can be pickled and added to
Physalis is known for its healing properties. It is most useful and edible when fully ripe. When should you harvest physalis to get the most benefit from it? How to properly store and consume fruits? Let's figure it out.
The time when you need to collect physalis can be determined by its shell
It is sometimes difficult to determine their ripeness by the color of the fruit. The color directly depends on the variety and varies from green to violet-red. Therefore, you need to navigate by more reliable signs.
How to determine when to collect physalis fruits
You can accurately determine the degree of ripeness of fruits by their “wrapper”. As the fruit ripens, it dries out; in a fully ripe physalis, the cover is completely dry, the leaves open up and may even fall off. The pronounced aroma of the fruit also indicates biological ripeness.
If the fruits begin to fall off the bush, this is a sure sign of their maturity; on dry soil they can lie for several days and not spoil.
It is best to harvest fruits in dry weather. If the “wrapper” of the berries is raw, it will quickly deteriorate, so it must be torn off immediately after picking.
Dry leaves can not be torn off, but stored with them.
If you focus on timing, then on average fruit maturity occurs two months after seedlings are planted in the ground. If physalis is grown without seedlings, then you can start harvesting the fruits 12 weeks after germination.
With the onset of frost, you need to remove all the berries, even if they are not yet completely ripe. They will arrive in a warm room in 1-2 weeks. Or you can completely dig up the bushes and hang them in the barn, top down: this way all the fruits will ripen evenly and quickly.
How to properly store physalis
Physalis is stored in boxes or cardboard boxes with ventilation holes, no more than 3 kg in each.
Rules for storing physalis:
- When picking, you should try to keep the berries intact;
- You need to send well-dried fruits for storage;
- during storage, physalis needs to be sorted several times, removing spoiled berries;
- Fully ripened fruits are best eaten immediately or placed in the refrigerator.
In a cool room (no more than 15°C), physalis will be stored for up to 2 months if the fruits are ripe, up to 4 months if not fully ripe.
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How to determine whether physalis is ripe and what you recommend preparing from it - answers from 7dach experts. ru
How to determine whether physalis is ripe? and what do you recommend cooking from it? — answers from 7dach experts. ru
Discussion in our VKontakte group:
Irina Gromchenko: Readiness is determined by taste. If the fruits are soft like ripe tomatoes, do not taste astringent, but are pleasantly sour, then they are ready. I made jam from them, but the skins had to be removed, like peppers, otherwise they interfere with the jam. You can also preserve tomatoes along with zucchini and cucumbers, I really liked it. In jam, physalis behaves like a fruit, and in pickling, it behaves like a tomato.
Anna Frizyuk: the boxes dry out completely, but it ripens even when picked, the main thing is not to gut the “cases”) Eat it fresh)) they also make jam from it. but I had sweet ones, they tasted like strawberries
Lyudmila Konopleva: I grew vegetables. Then, for many years it sprouted by self-sowing. It loves manure and humus; it grows well and bears fruit on them. The yellowish covers dry out and burst. The fruit changes color from green to yellow or purple. Before use, wash off the bitterness from the fruit with warm water.
You can participate in the discussion by going to the page in our VKontakte group.
Physalis is not uncommon in the farmsteads of Ukrainian gardeners. Our gardeners have fallen in love with decorative American varieties thanks to their exotic fiery red sepals with a small berry inside. And the vegetable and berry varieties of this plant were appreciated by local housewives for their rich composition of nutrients and the balance between the constituent sugars and acids. In a year, a prolific bush can bear up to 200 fruits, so there is a need for winter preparations. We will tell you how to prepare physalis in the article.
Harvesting for winter storage
Depending on the characteristics of the variety, fruits appear 80–100 days after seed germination. Ripe specimens can fall off on their own and remain unharmed on the ground for about ten days. Harvesting occurs in stages: every week it is necessary to collect fallen bolls and pick off those that are ripe.
It is important that before the onset of frost, everything is removed from the bush, since if frozen, they will soon begin to deteriorate. Try not to damage them so that as many useful elements and acids as possible are retained in the pulp. In rainy or damp weather, it is better not to plan to collect fruits. Wait until the sepals dry.
If you want to leave physalis unprocessed for the winter, it is also advisable to dry it before storing it in storage. Monitor the temperature in the room. It should be within 12 - 14 degrees Celsius.
The harvest must be placed in a thin layer in lattice plastic boxes with a paper-lined bottom. Ripe samples will last about two months, while green ones can survive until March. Periodically inspect your bins for spoiled fruits.
Did you know? In folk medicine, physalis is used as a diuretic, analgesic and relieves inflammation, fever, and is also recommended for preventive purposes against cholelithiasis.
Vegetable and berry physalis: what is the difference
All physalis belong to the nightshade family. Externally, they are 50–100 cm high with very branched powerful roots, straight stems and thin oval leaves with slightly serrated edges. Botanists have counted about 117 species of these plants, and only ten of them are suitable for human consumption. Among the edible varieties, a berry group is also distinguished.
All varieties of vegetable physalis or, as it is also called, Mexican, combine large orange fruits weighing up to 150 g with a low dry matter content. Most often cultivated in homesteads are “Korolek”, “Confectioner”, “Gribovsky ground”, “Tomatillo”.
Berry (or Florida) pubescent varieties are distinguished by small, light green berries the size of a pea, weighing about 3 g. Their advantage is a pleasant sweet taste and pronounced aroma. Such samples contain up to 15% fructose, which is equivalent to raspberries and strawberries. The varieties “Philanthropist”, “Magician”, “Surprise”, “Columbus” are popular.
Recipes for sweet physalis
The pubescent fruits are usually consumed fresh, as well as for making compotes, jelly, jam and other sweets. We offer you a selection of the best and affordable physalis berry preparations.
Jam
To prepare this delicacy you will need 1 kg of Florida physalis.
It needs to be cleared of sepals, washed in warm water and each fruit pierced with a needle. Then prepare syrup from half a kilogram of sugar and half a liter of water. After the mixture boils, keep it on the fire for another five minutes. Pour the prepared liquid over the berries and leave for four hours. Then add another half a kilogram of sugar, stir everything and, stirring constantly, cook for about ten minutes. After the specified time has passed, set aside again. 
After six hours, pour another half a kilogram of sugar into the pan and, stirring, put on the fire and cook until fully cooked. Then pour the finished product into clean jars and seal with metal lids.
Did you know? Tajiks use physalis to prepare medicine for colds and stomatitis in children.
Candied fruit
This dish is prepared from fresh physalis jam. It is necessary to remove whole fruits from the syrup and dry them.
To do this, some housewives simply tip the container of jam into a sieve, strain out the berries and place them on a heated baking sheet. Cover the top with a cardboard sheet or other thick paper and send it to simmer in the oven at a temperature of 40 degrees.
Important! In the finished jam, the foam gathers towards the center of the pan, the berries become translucent and are evenly distributed in the syrup, the sugar syrup becomes thick.
Some do not use an oven, but dry it at room temperature, but this process takes much longer. When the candied fruits dry, they are treated with powdered sugar on top, poured into a glass container and covered with a lid. 
Compote
It is possible to prepare a delicious compote from exotic fruits only by choosing ripe specimens with soft skin.
First of all, they need to be cleaned, washed with running water to remove dust and dirt. There is no need to cut, since the healing juice and aroma should be preserved. Then place the prepared berries in a bowl and scald with boiling water, leaving them in the same container for a few minutes.
Carefully remove the product from the boiling water with a spoon or slotted spoon and transfer it to another bowl with ice water. Blanching will remove mucus and a bitter aftertaste from the product. Then sugar is dissolved in water to taste, berries are added and simmered over low heat. To improve the taste, you can add prunes, dried apricots or other dried fruits and citric acid at your discretion.
The finished compote is poured into jars and rolled up. 
Raisin
To prepare raisins, you also need very ripe fruits.
As with all recipes, they should be peeled, washed and blanched. Then you need to remove the thin transparent skin from the berries and spread them in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
Dry in the oven at 60 degrees, turning occasionally. You can place the prepared physalis on a piece of fabric or thick paper and dry it in the sun. This delicacy is used for baking, compotes and puddings. 
How to prepare vegetable physalis for the winter
Vegetable species of this plant, due to their slightly bitter taste, are more suitable for pickling and pickling. But you can also make amazing jam from their berries. Here are recipes from Physalis vegetable for the winter that are accessible to any cook.
Salty
At the bottom of each jar, place a clove, a piece of root and bitter red, a twig, washed leaves and. You can also add to taste (calculate 50 g of spices for 1 kg of berries). Sprinkle the cleaned and washed physalis on top.
Meanwhile, prepare the brine. To do this, dissolve 60 g of salt in 1 liter of hot water and bring to a boil. Fill the contents of the jars with liquid and cover them with two-layer gauze or other not very dense fabric. Place in a warm place for fermentation for a week. 
Periodically skim off the white foam that appears on top. The fruits will be ready when the brine becomes sour. Drain it and boil it, then pour it back into jars and seal with metal lids.
Important! After opening a jar of jam, the product can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 14 days..
Marinated
To preserve 1 kg of vegetable physalis in the form of a marinade, you will need peeled and washed fruits.
While the water is draining from them in a colander, prepare the marinade. Boil 1 liter of water, add 50 g of sugar, 40 g of salt, 10 g of vinegar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, 4 allspice peas and 5.
Place the berries in jars and fill with the prepared liquid. Cover the top with lids and sterilize for another 15 - 20 minutes. Afterwards, you can seal the jars with a seaming key and, wrapping them in a warm blanket, leave them to cool. 
