The insect damage to the plants (which is pretty common) doesn't have anything to do with the flavor.

The fruit must be VERY dead ripe to taste its best. Underripe fruit has a bitter flavor, similar to biting into a green cherry tomato. I find its best to pick the fruit and let it sit for a week or more to fully ripen. It should be a deep amber color. When using them in recipes, it's ok to have a FEW somewhat underriped fruit mixed in, as long as it's only a few.

And no, they are not the most flavorful thing anyway. When fully ripe, raw, they will have a somewhat pineapple like flavor, and a moderate sweetness. Cooked, the flavor changes to more of a butterscotch/carmel flavor with sort of apricot overtones, kind of bland but pretty pleasant. I would say that you could throw a few raw into a fruit salad, but overall, predominantly designed to be used cooked in desserts, sauces, etc.

I sort of found them an acquired taste as well. They do grow on you after a while, so don't give up on them just yet.

I love these--when they are ripe. Don't know how they taste cooked---the kids always eat them up on me faster than I can accumulate them!

So it sounds like them falling off the plant is not dead ripe. I need to let them sit in the house for another week? the ones I had were yellowish. One was a tiny bit green.

I have been growing different kind of ground cherries. I found that the only ones I like are orange when ripe. Last season I planted the variety Pineapple Cossack and it was not good to eat it raw, but it was good on a pie.
The yellow in the picture is a different variety that turns orange when ripe.
I do spray to keep the bugs away, only use organics.

Silvia

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for me cape gooseberries should fall to be completely ripe, or come away from the bush realy easy like fall into your hand easy. so might be you have an issue with needed nutrients or ph? or maybe another variety will work better?

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

I planted them for the first time this year, and I don't like them either. I ate a pineapple ground cherry, and it tastes like a tomato, only gross, with a very sweet aftertaste. It tasted sort of familiar and disgusting at the same time. I was all prepared to love them-- seems like everyone else does.

These are ripe ant molly's.

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I did a thread on them last year called "ground cherry results". I have more this year. The pie was phenomenal.As someone mentioned, its has a butterscotch/caramel flavor only not cloyingly sweet. One could also say tropical fruit like flavor.. Eating the berry itself is much like a sweet tomato. Black cherry tomatoes are half way to a cherry in sweetness to me anyway so its no problem for me.

Some people complained about a worm in some of the berries which I had later in the season taking about 1/3 of the berries. I believe its Heliothis subflexus.

http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Subflexus_straw.html

It is probably hosted by native Physalis in my area.