Thanks a fool in paradise. I've often thought about planting a couple, they were also popular in jams.
Posted on 03/29/2021 5:16:45 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Medieval Europeans were fanatical about a strange fruit that could only be eaten rotten. Then it was forgotten altogether. Why did they love it so much? And why did it disappear?
The polite, socially acceptable name by which it's currently known is the medlar. But for the best part of 900 years, the fruit was called the "open-arse" – thought to be a reference to the appearance of its own large "calyx" or bottom.
And yet, medieval Europe was crazy about this fruit.
The fruit are unusual for two reasons. Firstly, they're harvested in December – making them one of very few sources of sugar that would have been available in medieval winters. Secondly, they only become edible when they're rotten.
When they're first picked, medlars are greenish brown and resemble oddly-shaped onions or alien-looking persimmons. If they're eaten straight away, they can make you violently ill – one 18th Century doctor and botanist said that they cause diarrhoea. But if you put them in a crate of sawdust or straw and forget about them for several weeks, they gradually darken and their hard, astringent flesh softens to the consistency of a baked apple.
Fast-forward to 2021, and the medlar is now not quite so little-known in Europe as it once was. It's begun quietly sneaking back into public awareness – largely thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts such as Steward, who markets her own range of medlar products, including jam and gin.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
And there’s nothing like a perfectly ripe persimmon. Had some in Kyiv. Yumm!
Pop over to your nearest Asian grocer. He keeps them in the freezer in a net.
Here’s one for you:
You dang know I will remember this when I think about buying one! LOL!
Interesting. I’ll have to look for these.
Having been introduced to this tasty fruit with the “tasteless smell on some Internet forum, imagine my surprise when, some 20 odd years ago a couple of them showed up in the fruit section of our local supermarket. I seem to recall looking up the price which was reported to be in the $20 range. When I went back a few days later they were both right where they were the week before so I bought one. I think I paid around $4.00 for it. Upon opening it up it had neither a very strong or offensive smell nor did it have much of any kind of taste, which I attribute to lack of freshness. That was the first and only time I've ever seen one in any grocery in my town
I also recall hearing stories about people bringing them on buses or into hotel rooms with the result that the areas in question were immediately emptied by passengers and guests loosing their lunch on the way out.
There was also a tale of a Brit who so missed the taste of the durian that he locked his house up and took a boat trip of several months (this being in the days of sailing ships) to travel half way around the world to have another taste.
Thanks a fool in paradise. I've often thought about planting a couple, they were also popular in jams.
This fruit was featured in an episode of Midsommer Murders called “Tainted Fruit.”
What’s a Medlar? Learn All About this Fascinating Medieval Fruit
Haha! Yes. Talk about puckering up!
No need to mention what matsutake ‘shrooms taste like, eh?
Interesting article... I wonder how many fruits are forgotten nowadays....
Liberace?
Finger pudding—imagine that touch and mouth feel, coupled with a sweet, gentle fruit taste with the strong smell of the bad odors, and a slight amount of that in the taste, too. It is quite an experience and one you will never forget.
It is worth it, however you get it. I will need to try it frozen, next. I think an Asian supermarket has it prepped and frozen.
Another fruit you have to try fresh is mangosteen. Again, this is an Asian market thing and can be found starting in the next month or so, for about two months. It is all good and my favorite fruit, with mangoes, next.
The relatives had “winter pear” trees too when i was young. We pickled them up like you do peppers. They lasted years,were great.
The relatives had “winter pear” trees too when i was young. We pickled them up like you do peppers. They lasted years,were great.
My youthful experience became a family legend.
Muriatic acid soak?
#4. So somebody in the past foresaw Stacey Abrams and named a fruit in honor of her future coming out in political bloom.
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