Ground Cherry Compote

I recently moved halfway around the world and find myself almost surrounded by mounds of ground cherries being sold by street vendors. Whether it's the roadside outside my apartment complex or the corner near work massive piles of ground cherries abound. I've been enjoying snacking on them, but once I figured out what they were called I started wondering what else I could do with them. (BTW, it's more like 'what aren't they called' - physalis peruviana or ground cherries are also known as Cape gooseberries, Peruvian cherries, and golden berries, among other things.)


Compotes and jams topped the list online, and I rather enjoyed the following recipe for vanilla ground cherry compote. I cut the sugar by half (reflected below), but may cut it by half again the next time I make compote as this first batch was still rather sweet. I also cut the amount of vanilla by half and was happy with the resulting taste. Although you start with four cups of ground cherries you only end up with a cup and a half or two, so if you're planning on canning the end product you might want to make much larger amounts. Enjoy!


Ground Cherry Compote

Ingredients
4 cups of ground cherries
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions
1) Lord, bless!
2) Rinse the ground cherries, mash them lightly, and put in a pot with the sugar and lemon juice.
3) Heat the ground cherry mixture to a strong boil and then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the compote has become syrupy.
4) Remove the compote from heat, add the vanilla, and place in sterilized jars for storage.
5) Serve on toast or with strong black tea and enjoy!