Normally grown in Southwest Asia
or Southeast Europe, the medlar has been around for over 3000 years and has
been enjoyed by many including the Romans, Greek and slightly more recently
Shakespeareans.
It is a strange fruit, with the
appearance of a large rosehip and is available in the winter, which makes it very
popular when other fruits are not around.
Historically medlars have been used to make sweet treats called ‘medlar
cheese’ whereas nowadays they are used in jellies, chutneys and tarts.
Against our natural expectation
the fruit is best eaten when it has been ‘bletted’, which means it has browned
as a result of rot (a bit like eating a mouldy cheese like stilton). Straight
from the tree the fruit can be a bit tart, but it sweetens as it blets. There
is a small window during which you can eat the fruit and although they can be a
bit fiddly with their seeds, it is worth every mouthful!
Although they aren’t often grown commercially these
days, medlars were a very popular British fruit in years gone by and can still
flourish in our UK climate. They can be grown as large bushes or small trees in
a sunny, sheltered spot and have a delightful white blossom in the autumn. So
why not try growing one yourself? See our range of medlar trees here#medlar #fruittrees #unusualfruit
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