Known and enjoyed in Europe since the Middle Ages, gooseberries are a summer fruit with a short season lasting only a few weeks. Sweet varieties are eaten raw, while the tart varieties are used for jams and preserves as well as many baked desserts.

Gooseberries grow best in summer humid, cool regions with great winter chilling. In California they are fairly productive in the coolest parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, the outer Coast Ranges and coastal northern California. 

Gooseberries are high in vitamin C.

Here are some  links to  interesting Gooseberry recipes:
http://www.hurst-berry.com/tgspiced.html

http://www.oregonfruit.com/oregon_fruit/gooseberry.html
Here is another source for Gooseberry information and beautiful pictures.
http://www.berrycrops.net/pages/home.htm