1. The latin name for the Gooseberry is Ribes uva-crispa.

2. It is not the same plant as the Indian Gooseberry, Chinese Gooseberry (Kiwi Fruit) or Barbados Gooseberry (a Cactus)

3. Gooseberries produce fruits in various colours including green, white and red depending on variety.

4. It is not unusual for bushes to crop for at least twenty years.

5. One serving of 100g raw gooseberries contains 40 Kcals.

6. One ancient belief tells how fairies would shelter from danger in the pickly bushes. This is how gooseberries became known as fayberries.

7. Competitive gooseberry growing was very popular, until the 1st world war there were 170 shows in the north of England.

8. Egton Bridge, eight miles from Whitby, is the setting for the oldest surviving gooseberry show in the country, established in 1800.  The show is held on the first Tuesday in August each year by the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society.
Winning gooseberries can be the size of golf balls.

9. The classic Gooseberry Fool recipe has its origins in Tudor times.

10. The gooseberry has been crossed with the blackcurrent to produce the jostaberry.