Some people say that the origin of the name gooseberry stems from the fact that it is often served with goose.
Another belief is that got to its name from the Dutch ‘kruisbes,’ meaning ‘crossberry.’
The earliest notice of it appears to be in the Commentaries of Matthiolus, who states that it is a wild fruit which may be used medicinally.
Among British authors, it is first mentioned by Turner in 1573, and afterwards by Parkinson and Gerard; the last noticing it not only for its medicinal properties but for its use in cookery.
Parkinson in 1640, mentions eight varieties, but the varieties increased so rapidly in the next hundred years, that miller in 1731 said that it was needless to undertake to enumerate them.
Gooseberries were cultivated in home gardens in the Low Countries of Europe from the beginning of the sixteenth century. In England, the gooseberry was first cultivated at the time of the reformation.
History of Gooseberry
