These are husk cherries, yellow fruits fatter than a blueberry, sweeter than a gooseberry, and subtler than a cherry.  Taught-skinned rounds, they have great “pop;” they burst in the mouth like a cherry tomato but taste like a sweet, mellow grape.  They have no pit.

Husk Cherries are related to tomatoes and tomatillas; they grow on vines like the former and have the same cute papery shells as the latter.  In some places they’re called Ground Cherries or Cape Gooseberries, not for a penninsula but because their homegrown wrappers look like capes.  When they grow they tend to tumble all over the ground, but those wrappers keep them from rotting or mushing too quickly.

Everything about them is adorable; their flavor is old-fashioned fruity and accessible.  They are almost no work - that “cape” comes off with satisfying ease.

If you see a box of them - at your farmers market or farm stand - buy them.  I’ve seen recipes for husk cherry and plum tart.  I took a cup and a half of them, tossed them in a pan with two tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of water, and made a quick topping which I put on Swedish Waffles, a New England variation on lingonberries.

Mandy, who skyped in on our Google Hangout (“Open Kitchen,” a live cooking show every Thursday from 12-6) says that in Montreal where she lives they put “Cerises de Terre,” on their breakfast cereal.

My stylish friend Jen Beauchamp, of the blog Jemil Beauchamp, http://www.jemilbeauchamp.com, dressed a jar of husk cherries in a ball gown and presented them as a gift.