Gooseberries are one of the fleeting treasures of high summer. Picked young and still green, they carry a sweet and sour tartness that makes them just as useful in savoury cooking as in pudding.

They also happen to be a genuinely good thing to eat. Gooseberries are high in fibre, including the pectin that makes them set so beautifully in jam, and that fibre is the kind your gut bacteria feed on. The skins and seeds, which many people are tempted to strain out, are where most of it lives. They are also rich in polyphenols, the plant compounds that give them their colour and sharpness. Nothing miraculous, just a fruit worth eating whole.

Whether you have never picked up a punnet or have home grown gooseberries galore, here are ten reasons to cook with them.

1. Gooseberry fool

The classic, and still the best. Cook the fruit down until it collapses, then fold the cooled purée through whipped cream and thick yoghurt. Use more yoghurt than cream if you want it lighter and a little tangier.

2. Gooseberry and elderflower jam

The pairing that defines English summer. Gooseberries are naturally high in pectin, so the set comes easily. Leave the skins in and you keep the fibre along with the texture.

3. Gooseberry compote with kefir

The simplest gut friendly option on the list. Warm the berries with a little honey until they burst, cool them, then spoon over kefir or live yoghurt. Fibre and ferment in one bowl.

4. Roast mackerel with gooseberry sauce

The traditional savoury match, and there is a reason it has lasted. The acidity cuts straight through oily fish in the way lemon tries to and never quite manages.

5. Indian style gooseberry skewers

The surprise. Thread firm green gooseberries between paneer or chicken, brush with a spiced yoghurt marinade, then grill until the fruit blisters and turns jammy. Sharp, smoky and completely unexpected.

6. Gooseberry crumble

Barely needs explaining. Gooseberries hold their shape better than most fruit under a crumble, so you get whole berries bursting rather than a puddle. Oats in the topping add more fibre.

7. Quick pickled gooseberries

Vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and a bay leaf. Ready in a day, and brilliant alongside cheese, pâté or cold roast pork. A proper lactose ferment works too if you have the patience.

8. Gooseberry chutney

Slow cooked with onion, ginger and warm spice until dark and thick. This is the one to make when the glut arrives, and it improves for months in the cupboard.

9. Gooseberry and almond cake

Ground almonds keep everything moist while the berries burst into little pockets of sharpness. Press them into the top of the batter rather than folding them in.

10. Gooseberry gin or shrub

Steep them in gin with sugar, or make a shrub with vinegar and sugar for something non alcoholic and lively. A shrub topped up with sparkling water is a very good drink indeed.