I came upon these little beauties while I was nosing around Remi's kitchen the other day. In French they are called l'amour en cage (love in a cage or caged love). In English we usually (those of us who have seen them before that is...not me) refer to them as groundcherries.
Their appearance is similiar to a tiny heirloom tomato but their taste is closer to a strawberry. Sweet. Not what I was expecting when I tentatively popped one into my mouth - taking care not to eat any of the "cage" with the taste morsel of "love."
It's used in the same way as tomato or fruits. Once extracted from its husk, it may be eaten raw or used in salads, desserts, as a flavoring, and in jams and jellies. They can also be dried and eaten much like figs, apricots or grapes.
They are also referred to as Japanese Lanterns, and are toxic if eaten before fully ripe!
photo from lesfoodies.com
Whilst poking around on the internet for more information on these little dudes I found this recipe from lesfoodies.com for these little chocolate treats featuring the fruit in the spotlight. Sorry guys - the recipe is in French but I can translate it if you ever get your hands on some l'amour en cage and want to make this.
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