If you love rhubarb, chances are you also appreciate gooseberries which share an acidity that people seem to either love or hate. This acidity does mean both fruits need quite a bit of sugar to make them palatable. You could add a leaf or two of the herb sweet cicely which is a natural sweetener and reduce the amount of sugar. At this time of the year gooseberries have a grassy tartness which I love. A few weeks from now they will have mellowed to a yellow gold colour and need less sugar. There are a few red varieties around which are sweeter but green is good for me. <br /> <br />A creamy syllabub complements the poached fruit perfectly. Wine or elderflower cordial to flavour the syllabub? The choice is yours. If you opt for elderflower then you might want to leave it out of the poached gooseberries. Originally, syllabub was a frothy drink made by milking directly from the cow into a bowl of wine, cider or ale. This stiffer version was developed to improve its keeiping qualitites. <br />

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