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Product sheet

Physalis
Physalis peruviana L. (Solanaceae) Other name: Cape gooseberry

hysalis (Cape gooseberry) is a shrub growing no taller than 1.5 metres. The more or less velvety heartshaped leaves are 6 to 15 cm and up to 10 cm wide. It grows in the tropics and subtropics. It originated in the Andean

Description

zones of Venezuela and Colombia and grows in highland areas at between 800 and 3000 metres. The plant is rustic and has little in the way of requirements. It does not like windy positions or freezing temperatures. The fruit is a yellow-orange berry the size of a small cherry. It is enclosed by a calyx the shape of a paper lantern that turns beige

when ripe. The flesh is the same colour as the fine skin enveloping it and contains numerous small edible seeds. The pulp is sweet, aromatic and acidulated. The fruit is generally eaten fresh but can be used in jams, pastries, chutneys and ice cream. The calyx gives it an undeniably decorative quality often used in pastry, confectionery and cooking.

Supplier countries and calendar

Although it is widely distributed around the world, physalis growing for commercial purposesfor the European markets in particulartakes place particularly in its region of origin. Colombia's dominance in the supply of the fruit hides the more modest exports from other sources such as South Africa. Physalis is available all the year round on the European market, with an increase in volumes at the end of the year. The German and northern European markets seem particularly active and a large proportion of deliveries to Europe go to these destinations.
7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 j-05

Physalis de Colom Physalis from Colombia bie Wholesale price gros aux Pays-Bas Prix de in the Netherlands

euro/kg

Avion By air j-05 j-06 a-05 o-05

Bateau By sea j-06 j-07 a-06 o-06 a-07 j-07 o-07

Source : ITC-MNS

Packaging and sizing

Physalis are packed in small plastic punnets with ventilation holes and translucent closure held by an elastic band. Punnets may be round or square and contain 80 to 125 g of fruits. They are packed in cardboard trays that hold 8, 12 or 16 punnets. The most commonly used packaging sizes are 100 and 120 g. The trays hold 1.5 to 1.9 kg net weight. As the fruits are generally shipped in the calyx it is difficult to size them precisely. Shippers tend to present fruits of similar size in the punnets to achieve visual homogeneity rather than true sorting by size. Several sources have considered shipping physalis without the calyx but this has been unsuccessful as the fruit no longer has any decorative interest at all.

Nutritive value (pulp/100 g) Energy Vitamin A Vitamin C 31 Kcal 1.613 mg 60 mg

PHYSALIS

Nutrition
Physalis is rich in vitamins C and A.

Regulations
Physalis are covered by Codex Alimentarius Standard 226/2001 amended in 2005.
Photos Guy Brhinier

Post-harvest
The recommended storage temperature is 12 to 16C.
October 2008 No. 160

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