Ground Cherries

I was produce shopping with my mom for bánh xèo when I saw a basket of ground cherries (or physalis) with a sign "Mangez moi". I have a rule that I do not turn down free food so I was happy to oblige. I popped one in my mouth and my mom came by. She took one, peeled it and put it in her mouth. Oops, I didn't peel mine... My mom replies "could you please be less stupid so that others can be stupid too?" in Vietnamese. This is after I told her that The Gastronomer's mother used to tell her that growing up. You might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but you sure can teach your mom new insults...!

Ok, back to the ground cherries. They do not taste like cherries (nor does trái sơ ri). I found they were very fragrant. They were very sweet and reminded me of something I couldn't really pinpoint. They have seeds that remind me of figs. My sister said she thought of dragon fruit or prickly pears.

Ground Cherry basket for $0.99.

Ground Cherry close-up.


You're supposed to peel it before eating...

Cross-Section of a Ground Cherry.