Would make some great salsa I'd think and you could freeze it. You can also just freeze them whole (pop them into a ziplock bag, thaw and toss some into any sauce or casserole). Hot about cut in half for pizza topping. Dried to eat like candy. Marinated with cukes and onions in a nice balsamic vinegar and oil and served on bibb lettuce salad?

Dave

The pineapple tomatilloss work well in a salsa with added real pineapple. The pineapple taste is just slight, but when made into a salsa with some complimentary ingredients it will come out great. For heat, some kinds of yellow hot peppers too. You would get a green/yellow salsa. Sorry, no recipe, but easily converted from a regular salsa. Pineapple is naturally high in acid too.

Along the same lines as Ken suggested, I make a pineapple salsa with pineapple,mango, jalepeno, red onion cilantro, just add your tomatillios, I serve this chilled with grilled chicken or fish Really good. You can also use/ subsitute the mango with papaya.

Great ideas, everyone!

I'm busy oven-drying some tomatoes so will plan to do the same with any excess PT's after the freezer jam and salsa. With two VERY productive bushes, I won't be able to use them all up in fresh dishes. Also like the idea of freezing them whole to use for later. So much produce, so little time....

Thanks again,

Rain

They make a pretty good pie also when dead ripe -- sort of a butterscotch taste. Be sure to throw a little lemon zest or juice in there to balance the sweetness.

Thanks blameitontherain for posting this question as I just came on here to find out that same thing.

I am growing them for the first time and they are just finally starting to ripen. Had my first taste a couple of days ago. Boy are they good and definitely a keeper!

Are these the same thing as pineapple groundcherries? I planted them for the first time this year, and they look like miniature tomatillos, so I'm just wondering if that is what you are referring to here.

Bonnie

Bonnie, The ones I am growing look like miniature tomatillos. They are about the size of a New Jersey blueberry. There isn't much info from the company I got them from.

I got them from the link below. Mine kind of taste like a cross between oranges and pineapples.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.tomatogrowers.com/cgi-bin/search.pl

I just found this recipe in The Cook's Garden catalog that I will try when I get enough ripe ones.

Pineapple Tomatillo Salsa

2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup pineapple tomatillos
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours for flavors to meld.

Just a side to all those growing these. They self seed profusely. Not hard to hoe up next year but you probably won't need seeds ever again. I have grown them for years. Mostly just for fresh eating. Just like candy. I have grown 3 kinds and the pineapple is my favorite. My mom always made jam but I just eat fresh. Good in salads. Make a salad with halved ones along with mozzarella cheese, red onion, fresh basil. I use a very lite dressing of garlic oil and red wine vinegar. And yes we called them ground cherries.

I ordered my seeds from Pinetree Seeds. I think "pineapple tomatillos" are just another name for pineapple groundcherries and pineapple huskcherries. I thought mine were stunted, as the fruit was only about 1/4 the size of the tomatillos I have grown in the past. Will have to look at my catalog but I don't believe Pinetree indicated what size the fruit would be at maturity.

They really so have an interesting taste, well suited for a number of uses, and have been absolutely bullet proof in the garden. Will defintely grow them again next year!

Rain

Tomatillos need more good fertilizer compared to tomatoes. If they are planted in an area wheere soil is poor, and lacking not only NPK, but iron, calcium, zinc, and many necessary minerals, it may be wht they were small. I used to hear about people have ing poor crops of asparagus even after 10 years of growing. They add a high nitrogen, not chemical based, but slow release like feather meal, fish meal, and even corn gluten. These all release nitrogen and will increase the spear sizes greatly. Mine were as big around as my thumb and they are doing quite well. Never use Miracle Grow as its pure chemical salts and isn't very beneficial for growing plants. I only use organic fertilizers and also get my soil tested every year in spring. That when I can know what to get to ammend my soil and till the ammendments in once they are applied.

My ground cherries will grow where tomatoes don't. In even the poorest soil. The catalogs call these tomatillos but they don't seem to be the same as real tomatillos. All that I have ever seen have been about the size of a cherry. Bite size bits of sweetness. Not like a tomatillo at all for taste. Much softer and juicier than tomatillo too. I have seen them called lots of different things. husk tomato, jamberry, Mexican green tomato, strawberry tomato, dwarf cape gooseberry, husk tomato, physalis, strawberry tomato. But they are definitely different than the usual tomatillo that I have grown and not had much luck with BTW. Where the ground cherries just take over.

I grew tomatillos and they were about the size of small tomatoes (not cherry size, but bigger), and once the husks split open, they are usually ripe, even at the green stage. When you remove the paper husks the skins of them tend to feel oily and sticky.

Found this decription for them:

You will not believe the flavor of these little gems. The golden-yellow fruits, about the size of a large blueberry, taste just like pineapple. Low-growing plants produce huge yields of tomatillos surrounded by papery husks that turn from green to brown and split open when they are ready to harvest. Pull back the husks and dip in melted chocolate for a surprising dessert. Use additional harvests for making pineapple salsa or chutney.

Dipped in chocolate--Yum

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.cooksgarden.com/

THere are recipes on here and the web for making jam. I make it a lot. Made some last year and still have some left over. I also heard people make pies with them. Have fun!

I have referred to them as, just like the “full course meal gum” in The Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory movie! First they taste like cooked melted butter, then mango, then a nice tart tomatillo flavor at the end. 😮👍 They are abundant but small.... does anyone have any easy harvesting tips for them? Like maybe a drop cloth or something? They are only ripe when they naturally fall off.😳✌️