Medlar

Description

Medlar are a small fruit which look like a cross between a small apple and a rosehip.

When ripe and ready to harvest, medlar are hard and acidic, but become edible after being ‘bletted’. Bletting is a process whereby the fruits soften, by exposure to frost, or naturally in cold storage given sufficient time.

Once softening begins, the skin rapidly takes on a wrinkled texture and turns dark brown. The inside reduces to the consistency and flavour reminiscent of apple sauce. A softened fruit looks as if it has spoiled, but it is actually at the perfect stage for consumption.