Ground Cherry Jam

What does one do with 61 store bought ground cherries ?? Well, make one very small, jar of jam...isn´t that what everyone does ? What is a ground cherry, also known as Physalis ?  It is a small, smooth round fruit wrapped in a papery case, the fruit itself is a pretty orange-golden colour. It can be eaten as is, they have a delicate sweet-sour taste – sort of a cross between a gooseberry and a cherry tomato. This is not something we have growing in our garden yet , as it is very invasive. They do however grow abundantly on the island, wild. When I saw these at the market, I just had to buy them. I got them home, and counted how many there were, 61 lovely little golden gems, so I decide to make a jar of jam, a very tiny jar of jam. It came together very quickly, I swear it was ready in 15 minutes. I love all the little flecks in it, all the tiny seeds, it was great paired with cheese, the sweet and tart flavor, a wonderful contrast. Now was it really worth it , just to have one little jar of jam....of course it was, even the smallest of things, made with love, are special.

equal parts of Physalis and sugar ( I had a cup of each )
lemon juice from half a lemon



Sterilise the jar in a saucepan of boiling water.
Remove the berries from their parchment skins, wash and cut them in half.
Put them into a heavy-based saucepan,with the sugar,and juice of half a lemon, bring to a boil, about 5 minutes.
Blend the berry mixture with an emersion blender and return to the heat for another 10 minutes or so.
Pour into the sterilised jar and seal tightly.