I never knew there were bans, but yes I never saw them frozen in NYC. I only ever saw them fresh at the FM. I thought it was kind of funny that they seem more available here than blueberries, which do show up, but not with the same regularity.
I didn’t know either !
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They propagated a disease that affected white pines, and there were federal and state bans on growing them for that reason through most of the twentieth century. They were only lifted starting in the last twenty-odd years, which is why you never saw them much in the US, and only ever saw imported products made with them.
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That would be tasty for Cinco de Mayo with an Italian twist.
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I’ve been growing them for years. They’re not too successful and often the varmints get to them before I do.
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I have 2 bushes in Ontario that do well, but the birds like them when they’re ripe. I covered them with nets for close to a decade, until 2 years ago when a little bird got tangled in the net and I didn’t get there until it was too late to help him out. So- the birds ate very well last summer, without the nets. My black currants attract birds but few mammals, whereas my black raspberries (juicier than a blackberry) attract so many insects. I rather deal with birds than bite into a berry infested with bugs.
For whatever reason, gooseberries were associated with spreading something to conifers here in Ontario, and that’s why we see very few gooseberries, relative to Europe.
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Unlike last time I made triple chocolate mousse, I think this is a pretty fantastic recipe:
I made 28 cups (I think they were a bit under 3 oz) rather than one cake.
I added 1/4 tsp salt to the bittersweet mousse and 1/8 tsp salt each to the other layers.
I love chocolate mousse without gelatin and I love using whole eggs rather than meringue.
The sweetness is just right here and the layers are distinct but work perfectly together.
The one hiccup is that the white chocolate layer is just too loose and I had to make it again because it barely set up and when pulled out of the fridge for even a minute wanted to go liquid. I would always whip the cream more than instructed for it. And because these are traveling I decided to add a little gelatin to that last layer for extra insurance. Since they won’t be un-molded I used just 3 grams.
And I also made panna cotta with strawberries.
I used 1.2% gelatin because I wanted to make sure the panna cotta could handle the weight of the strawberries and gelee and because I like panna cotta that holds well on the spoon while still being creamy. At 1% is as low as I’m willing to go because below that I often find it’s a bit soupy and wants to run off the spoon.
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Recently I found out about the existence of lemon bisque and the photo from Cook’s Country sort of entranced me along with the idea of whipping evaporated milk. I actually found the CC recipe so I made that since I like Cook’s Illustrated.
I added a pinch of salt upon tasting the mix. My evaporated milk didn’t really get to stiff peaks. I ultimately ended up whisking the two together.
I really like this for the not too tart and not too sweet flavor, though ultimately I think for myself I would prefer this recipe which has less sugar. It also explicitly calls for salt and I think I’d prefer the crumbs with the butter added, too.
I thought this would be delicious frozen, so I stuck it in the freezer and it’s even better.
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In the quest to make a mango dessert that I don’t find to be bland and sweet, I think I’ve landed on a good one here:
I did add copious amounts of salt, and I think I might like it better with more sour cream, but it’s very, very nice. I like how softly set it is, so it doesn’t feel gelatinous. It has enough dairy to mellow out the mango, and the coconut milk topping works wonderfully. I tried making my own coconut purée by adding 20% sugar and 1% pectin NH to coconut milk and it seemed to work pretty well. It’s very lightly sweetened and hasn’t separated.
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Elysburg isn’t that far from where I grew up and I am trying to think if I ever saw or ate this growing up - I can’t say that I remember having done so. Looks pretty good 
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Latest mango dessert— a mousse. Not bad, but I really think mango needs some type of cultured dairy, be it yogurt or sour cream, to offset its overpowering sweetness and blandness. I’d like to try this again with the milk switched out.
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Spoon, fork or tongue?
Yes. 
Yesterday, I made up some snacks for Sunshine. She gets a bit hungry in between lunch and dinner, so a little snack is in order. This is a quick 3 ingredient, no-bake treat that I can easily throw together. It is just honey, peanut butter and quick oats. I’ve made them before and she enjoys them.
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We used to make something similar, with PB, honey and powdered milk.
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I remember that from my childhood.
Chocolate, Coffee and Hazelnut Mousses are what we used in the Winter for our Dacquoise at a French Restaurant that I worked for many Years ago. Great combo of Flavors, they worked with each other and stayed distinct from each other at the same time.
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We used to make that with almond butter before almond butter became hip. We’d eat these by the panful at swim meets.
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