Medlar fruit and Jelly

Above: Bletted medlar fruit

When it comes to Shakespeare and love the play that springs to mid for most people is "Romeo and Juliet", and the many people would recognise and understand the following lines:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet

However, Shakespeare also makes use of other botanical comparisons in the play which are not so clear:

Now will he sit under a medlar tree,

And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit

As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.

O Romeo, that she were, O that she were

An open-arse and thou a poperin pear!

What on earth is Mercutio talking about? Obviously there is more then a wiff of sexual euphemism about these lines, the long tapering poperin pear is bardly slang for penis but "medlar""isn't such a well know fruit now so the reference isn't as clear for modern readers. A "medlar" is both the name of the tree and the fruit it bears, botanically known as Mespilus germanica. They are part of the Maloideae (apple) subfamily of the rose family Rosaceae and are therefore related to apples, pears and quinces. In appearance the fruit is rather small, dull and brown, although the tree it self is very attractive with dark glossy leaves with silvered undersides and large shining white five petaled flowers in the spring.

Above: Quince fruit and the much smaller Medlar for comparison.

Due to the appearance of the fruit with it's retained sepals and hollow crowned appearance it has been used as euphemistically by the English historically to refer to the anus ("open-arse") or less commonly female genitalia ("open tail") , in much the same way the Italians still refer to the fruit of the fig tree. Unlike the fruit of the fig tree, any resemblance to female genitalia would take a combination poor eye site and considerable wishful thinking. The French are perhaps closer in their phrase "cul de chien" and Shakespeare does seem to be taking some anatomical licence with the meaning he has given. The following 18th century definition of the medlar fruit gives the more usual description of the fruit.

"A fruit, vulgarly called an open arse; of which it is more truly than delicately said, that it is never ripe till it is as rotten as a turd, and then it is not worth a fart."

This description also gives an indication of the other unusual property of the medlar, the fact that it is inedible until it has begun to rot. This process called "bletting" can occur while the fruit is attached to the tree after frost, or can be achieved by picking the ripe fruit and storing them in a cool dry place. Either way the hard cream flesh breaks down into a soft brown pulp. It is this pulp that is consumed in on form or another. Common ways to eat this fruit pulp is simply sweetened (or not) with port, made into jellys, "cheese "and creams.

Above: partially bletted medlar fruit cut in half to show the normal white and broken down brown pulp.

Although the medlar is no longer a common or even well recognised fruit, my parents have a medlar tree in their orchard and this year I was lucky enough to get enough fruit to make into a jelly. The jelly is made in exactly the same manner as quince jelly, briefly the fruit is roughly chopped and covered with water, it is then simmered for three hours, then liquid is them filtered through a cheesecloth overnight, equal amount of sugar is added and the jelly is simmered until it gels. The resulting jelly is a lovely garnet colour, but the real pleasure of the jelly is it's flavour and aroma. Simply stated no other fruit comes close to approaching the depth and complexity of flavour. Event he quince which is considered by many to produce the most exotic, ethreal and delicious of conserves, pales in comparison. The initial flavour on the palate is very similar to quince jelly, powerfully aromatic, even spice like, but never over-powering or cloying, but in addition to this the medlar jelly has a woody, earthy, leaf litter aroma which sounds revolting, but is in fact delicious. Most people will not have access to medlar fruit, but it is possible to by medlar jelly from Wilkin & sons, Tiptree in England. While the jelly could be used to accompany lamb or game (in a similar manner that rowan berry, cranberry and red currant jellies are used), it crys out to be slathered on a slice of tangy sour-dough toast or eaten with fermented yeast pancakes, especially the clotted cream ("Ashtah") stuffed Lebanese Atayef pancakes.

Above: My medlar jelly.

Comments

[john hughes]

hi i recently found a medlar tree, funnily enoigh outside RSC theatre in Stratford upon Avon. I helped myself to about 1 1/2 kilos of Medlars. I am curious how you made your Jelly. Did you wait until they had ripened?

[Adam Balic]

Hi John-

what an odd coincidence. Making medlar jelly is essentially the same as making quince or apple jelly. The difference is letting the medlars age and break down. If you store them in a cool dry enviroment they will start to soften and the skin will wrinkle after a few weeks. If you make the jelly before this stage there will not be nearly as much flavor in the jelly and it will not have the lovely smokey flavour typical of medlar jelly. Good luck!

[Luke Downs]

Interesting article. I just came across a loaded medlar tree next to an equally loaded Quince, (Cydonia), in an overgrown garden in Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island. The owner was very impressed that I knew what it was and invited me to pick them. I picked probably 2 kilos of medlars and at least double that of quinces and hardly scratched the surface. Inspired by your article, I shall ask if I can go back for more medlars and try your jelly.

[Adam Balic]

For a realtively unknown fruit, it seems to have quite a wide distribution. It seems to be very hardy, so maybe this is one reason for this. My parents have 30-40 different fruit trees, due to very late and hard frosts the melar was the only tree to have any fruit last season, even though it was growing in the most exposed position.

By all means make the jelly, it is simple and very delicious. Let me know how it turns out. Another thing to try would be the melar "cheese" and tart that I have linked to on Ivan Day's site.

[seahorse]

Very informative as I'd cautiously just removed my medlars from under my bed to see how they were doing. Squishy and brown, ready to go I reckoned so they're simmering now. Your jelly looks really lovely. Gorgeous colour.

[Adam Balic]

How did your jelly turn out?

[Mr. Chrisven Skelly]

11/09/2007

Where can I mail order purchase MEDLAR JELLY here in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA only?

[Adam Balic]

I'm afraid that I don't know as I live in Australia.

[donkey]

I fell in love with medlar jelly last year. After about three months of buying the stuff every week, the shop and the producer ran out - they need more trees.

I bought my own tree and have just picked my first harvest. Most fruits are only half-bletted at the moment. I shall leave them a while, then get to work.

[Adam Balic]

That is great to hear. I made an attempt at describing the flavour of the jelly, what are your impressions?

My parents Medlar trees have just finished flowering and are now covered in small fruit. Hopefully a good harvest this year.

[Lin Whitehead]

Medlar Jelly is fantastic we being a small producer of specialised preserves produce Medelar,Quince, Rowan Berry and Crab Apple Jellies as part of our range of products, infact some of the 2007 Medlar & Quince Jellies have been produced from fruit harvested from Ann Hatherways cottage Stratford Upon Avon UK

[Basil K]

Medlars are not very common these days here in Hungary, even though they used to be centuries ago, they say. I just picked some in my grandfather's orchard today. It is the very last fruit to ripen, he says. How weird that it needs to be exposed to frost before it can be eaten. I guess the ripening process takes place before the bletting, doesn't it? I suppose frost just changes the texture so, that it can be eaten.

[Nudge McAuliffe]

Extremely good article.I found a tree in the garten of a local ``Winzer`` here in the Palatinate in Germany.My awareness had been awakened by an article in a magazine about living in the country.the Austrians call them Asperln, but the Germans call them Mispel.
A Schnaps is made in the Saarland from them.I will look out for it.The article I read mentioned that the medlar was traditionally to enhance the taste and the shelf life of wine and cider.

[Nudge McAuliffe]

Extremely good article.I found a tree in the garten of a local ``Winzer`` here in the Palatinate in Germany.The Austrians call them Asperln, but the Germans call them Mispel.Schnaps is made in the Saarland from them.I found a recipe that recommends rubbing Mispelgelee onto the skin of a roast goose for the last 20 minutes to make the skin especially crispy and succulent.My wife found 6 trees yesterday outside Kallstadt.

[Adam Balic]

Given the scientific name of the Medlar, I am very pleased to get this information about the use of medlars in Germany. Roast goose is traditional in our family for Christmas, so if the weather isn't too hot I will certainly try this.

[Luke Downs]

Hi again. A month later and the medlars are all bletted and we made jelly yesterday. Actually it turned out more like a thick syrup, as it didn't really set. Not so bad, as we like waffles, pancakes, etc. It tastes delicious.
Not setting may be partly my fault. I didn't add as much sugar as I had liquid. It was so sweet from the fruit and I didn't want to lose the fruit flavour in simple sugar sweetness, so I cut back by about 10% or more.
Over the last month, we have eaten them raw from time to time and enjoyed them.
One problem: How do you tell when a bletted medlar has gone past it? While waiting for enough to be ready to use for jelly, some seemed a bit too far gone, and I discarded them. A conoisseur may tell us they are the best!

[Adam Balic]

Hi Luke,

the only fruit that I thought had to be discarded where those few that were desiccated or had gone mouldy (on the interior).

Sorry to hear that the jelly didn't set. Cutting back on the sugar is the likely reason, but there are other possible reasons as well. I usually have a cold plate, that I drop spoonfuls of the mixture on. When it sets on the plate it is ready. If pectin is heated for too long it's jelly potential can also be reduced. If you have lots if the syrup and would still like to make some jelly, buy some commercial pectin and follow the instructions. In the UK and Australia you can also buy ready mixed sugar and pectin for jelly, although I must admit that I haven't used these as I like the special texture of medlar jelly.

Another trick is to add a few quince, these are high in pectin and don't mask the medlar flavour at all.

Sorry I didn't mention all this before.

[Robert near Forest of Fontainebleau]

Been picking kilos and kilos of medlar from the forest, more than 10 to this point. Best to leave the fruits on the tree until they are bletted. Heard of a trick which is to pick the unbletted fruit, then shove them in the freezer for a couple hours, then take them out and watch them "bletting". Maybe if the fruits fine and the weather doestn't seem to go towards frost ? We were lucky this year.
Cheers to all medlar amateurs.
RM

[nigel]

What a wealth of information. Here in Southern Spain they are called Nispero. My builder offered me one of his Nispero cuttings and planted it today ! I am sure it will be bearing fruit in a few years. He also gave me two young pomegranates.

[Adam Balic]

Hi Nigel,

you are very luck to be in Southern Spain, I spent as much time as possible in Jerez and Sanlucar when I lived in Scotland!

I think that there is a chance that what you have been given isn't the medlar that is discussed above (as you say "Nispero" in Spanish), but is the loquat or Japanese Medlar(Eriobotrya japonica) which is often called "Níspero japonés", but most often just "Níspero". Similar looking, but very different fruit. Very tasty and hardy though and you can eat the fruit fresh of the tree.

Another fruit to look out for in Southern Spain is the "jujube" which have a texture like a dryish apple, but taste like apple and caramel.

[Axel]

I just picked my first real medlar harvest. I have about three different cultivars growing in my garden, and this year is the first year they started to give a good harvest. I live in Coastal Central California overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Meldars are like the "date of England". You have to let them "rot" a little to soften them just like a date or a jujube. Then they are exquisite, musky, yummy, like apple sauce spiced with leaf litter.

I am still trying to discern variability in flavor from cultivar to cultivar. It's also a very beautiful tree. Anyone else trying to grow these? Mine grow alongside bananas, passion fruit, and tropical guavas. It's quite nice to see a fruit that hails from the cold, frosty chilly climates of Western Europe grow amidst tropical delights. The contrast is fascinating. They bear quite well in our mild climate and they even blet right on the tree.

[Ruth Dimion]

We found a medlar tree beside Gray Creek store, on the east side of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The owner's ancestors brought the tree over from England at the turn of the century.

[Adam Balic]

Hi Ruth,
that's really interesting, obviously the original owners thought that the fruit was important if they made the effort to import the tree!

I've actually just bought a few more of the trees myself.

[Marta]

Does anyone know where can I buy medlar fruits in the UK? I live in Yorkshire... Thanks in advance.
A medlar lover

[Bruce Slark]

You can buy several cultivars from the Agroforestry Research Trust on line at: www.agroforestry.co.uk
I have the cultivar Large Black Russian and have just made my first batch of medlar cheese without the allspice have left in my fridge to set but the warm cheese was delicious.Will try the jelly next. By the way the trees will fruit within a couple of years. Good luck.

Bruce