MEDLARS

DISCOVERING NEW (or ancient) FRUITS

Something new to meddle with - 

"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." 18Century Anon

Welcome to the world of Medlars!

European Medlars

A friend has provided us with some medlars from a local tree

Medlar tree, Hove 

The Common or European Medlar has been around for centuries and appears to have been popular in England before sugar was available.  The fruits are hard and sour and do not ripen on the tree and cannot be eaten straight from picking.  

Freshly picked medlars

They need to be “bletted” i.e. stored in a cool dark place until they begin to go soft and brown or just beginning to decay when the flesh becomes sweet and can be spooned out.  They are suitable for making making jam or jelly – but still require bletting first.

Although called the European Medlar (its botanical name being Mespilus germanica i.e. German Medlar), it appears to have come originally from Persia and according to the Royal Horticultural Society there are several varieties available in the UK.

The French call the medlar cul du chien (translation: dog’s arse)

. 
Shakespeare called the fruits “open-arse”  which, I am informed*, could have referred not to an arse but rather female genitalia - which makes more sense when reading Mercutio's misogynistic remarks in Romeo and Juliet regarding Rosaline's "quivering thigh
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie"

Mercutio goes on to say:

If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.
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, thou a pop'rin pear.

I don't recall any of that from my English Literature O Level! (for any younger readers, O Levels were what is now known as GCSE - but harder!!!!).

D H Lawrence described medlars as "autumnal excrementa". 

I posted the D H Lawrence poem ("Medlars and Sorb-Apples”) on Facebook – it goes on for several stanzas - and it drew this response from my daughter, Zoë, 

“Blimey! Bit deep for a fruit” –

Here’s an excerpt

"Delicious rottenness.

I love to suck you out from your skins So brown and soft and coming suave....."

- So here’s this fruit which the French thinks looks like a dog’s arse, Shakespeare likens to a vagina, Lawrence calls it excrement which can’t be eaten until it’s rotting – little wonder that it has fallen out of fashion!  

But, nevertheless, D H Lawrence loved them and others say they’re delicious, So, as mine were bletting nicely....

bletted medlars

 ...we tried one - 

It didn't look too appetising -

It was soft and squishy and could be spooned out.  It was quite good, however, with a taste of apple and date, sweetish but also with a tart aftertaste. I had some spread on toast - quite nice actually.

I decided to try making medlar jelly which is particularly recommended by Nigel Slater as an accompanient to roast pheasant or other meat. Here's my recipe for Medlar Jelly

In Spain we discovered a different sort of medlar......

Japanese medlar

Japanese Medlars

In May 2012, whilst driving to visit the waterfalls north of Alicante at Las Fuentes de l'Algar   (Les Fonts de l'Algar in the local Valencian language), we drove past fields of cultivated fruit trees laden with yellowish orange coloured fruits which from a distance looked like apricots but it was rather early for apricots and the leaves on the trees didn't look quite right for apricots, as this library picture shows.

Nisperos

On arrival at the waterfall we soon learned what they were called because they were present in large numbers in every food shop. They were on sale fresh as well as in cans and bottles and on the menu in every restaurant - they were Nisperos!

Although we now knew the Spanish name we were none the wiser until we were served them for dessert and tasted them.  They had a curious sweet and sour taste, a mixture of apple, citrus and peach, someone thought mango.

We bought some to take home

Subsequent Googling revealed that the Nispero is known in English as the Asian or Japanese Medlar (although it probably originates from eastern China from where it spread to Japan). 

Apparently it was introduced to Spain by sailors arriving in Valencia around two thousand years ago but was not much cultivated until the 19th century when it became popular around the Mediterranean. It is known in some countries as the loquat . It is suited to the same climate as orange and other citrus trees, so Spain seems an obvious place for it to grow and Spain is now the main producer of nisperos in Europe. The nispero is in the same family as the common European medlar, but a distant relative.

It is yellow or apricot coloured on the outside with soft, creamy yellow flesh with two to four large seeds in the centre. The skin is edible, although in Spain many people peel off the skin; but the seeds, like the apricot kernel, are poisonous as they contain quantities of cyanide compounds.

Unlike the European common medlar, it ripens on the tree and does not keep well so needs to be eaten soon after picking.  It is at its sweetest when fully ripe.

Because the seeds have cyanide compounds they cannot be eaten and most recipes that I have seen say they should be removed before using the fruits in cooking, although I have seen a few recipes which say the seeds can be tied in muslin and boiled with the flesh for jam and jelly making.  In Italy the seeds are used for making nespolino liqueur . There appear to be many varieties, with some containing less cyanide compounds than others. The fruit itself has a high pectin content which makes it suitable for jam or jelly making without using the seeds.  If I do get round to any jam making in Spain, I think I will err on the side of caution and remove the seeds!

Apart from helping jam to set, the pectin in medlars is also a rich source of dietary fibre, and very good for gut health. 

The Basque co-operative supermarket, Eroski, has a food website which says the Nispero fruit is very beneficial for health because of its high pectin content as the fibre retains water and 
“swells in the stomach forming a gel, which reduces the speed of gastric emptying and produces a satiety sensation, very useful for people who follow slimming diets. A pectin is attributed beneficial effects in case of diarrhoea because it slows down the intestinal transit, by retaining water. To this is added the richness in medlar tannins (more abundant in its juice), substances with astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. Tannins dry and deflate the intestinal mucosa (layer that lines the inside of the digestive tract)

“On the other hand, the pectin increases the pH (decreases the acidity) when the acid is well mixed and neutralized with food and the fibre itself, so the consumption of ripe medlars is indicated in case of gastrointestinal disorders (delicate stomach, gastritis , gastroduodenal ulcer, etc.) To the richness in pectin, citric, tartaric and malic acids are abundant in their pulp, which exert regulating and toning actions on the mucous membranes. Also, fibre helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and good control of blood glucose (blood sugar levels), so the consumption of medlars is beneficial in case of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes.”

According to Eroski, the Nispero is also a source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant which may help reduce the risk of degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and, given its high content of potassium and organic acids, is a good diuretic, increasing the production of urine facilitating the removal of grit and uric acid from the kidneys. It is recommended in case of gout, excess of uric acid, uric acid stones, and hypertension. 

So apart from the cyanide, it seems a good fruit to eat!

Despite Fonts de l’Algar being a major tourist attraction, and only 15km inland from Benidorm (that most British of Spanish seaside resorts), we heard very few English voices, most of the visitors being Spanish.  The nearest town is Callosa d'en Sarrià, which gives its name to the surrounding area renowned for the quality of its Nisperos, such that, like wines, they have their own protected DO (Denominacion de Origine)  “Nisperos Callosa d’En Sarrià’’ and regulatory body http://nispero.com/

But you don't have to go to Spain to taste them as Nisperos are now available in England for a short period in the season.  Waitrose sell them. In Spain they are sold by the kilo; Waitrose sell nisperos in packs of 6, describing them as having a “sweet flavour which is like a mixture of apricots, apples and plums”. Waitrose advise that they can be eaten raw but warns that the hard brown seeds and the membrane surrounding them should be discarded. They add that “They are particularly good for making into jams, jellies and relishes; if the seeds are included during cooking they will impart an almond-like flavour”. Well that will be the cyanide!  You can decide for yourself whether you want the almond flavour.  Watch this space for a future recipe!

John Austin

Hove, November 2018

*Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Romeo and Juliet Sex Quotes from https://www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/sex-quotes-5.html

ORANGES, LEMONS AND LIMES (3)

Lemon marmalade - 

Recipe 3 Lemon & Ginger Marmalade

This recipe basically follows the same method as the two previous ones 

Ingredients

1kg Lemons (or Limes or oranges or a mixture of all three)
6 pints/3.5 litres water
Granulated or Jam Sugar
4oz/100g root ginger
4 -8oz/100-200g crystallised ginger*

Method

Prepare the fruit as in either of the previous recipes - Thick cut marmalade or Thin cut, Lemon shred marmalade but then peel and bruise/crush the root ginger or chop or slice it and tie in a muslin cloth and add to and boil with the fruit pulp.

After boiling, remove the ginger and strain the pulp and proceed as previous recipes.

Chop the crystallised ginger 

and add to the fruit juice once the sugar has dissolved, and keep stirring for a few minutes to ensure that sugar adhering to the ginger has dissolved, then bring to the boil until setting point has been reached.

Leave to cool for a few minutes and then stir to ensure an even distribution of peel and ginger. Pour into jars and seal.  If the mixture is too hot when you pour into jars there is a risk that the ginger will sink to the bottom.  If this does occur, stir the contents in the jar before sealing.

* If you want only a hint of ginger use the lower quantity.  If you want it fiery increase the quantity to your own taste. You don't have to limit it to 8oz/200g.

John Austin

Hove, February 2018

ORANGES, LEMONS AND LIMES (2)

Lemon marmalade - Recipe 2 Thin cut (Lemon Shred)

Basically this is the same recipe as the previous one but with very thin pared peel and none of the flesh in the final product.

Ingredients

1kg lemons (or limes or a mixture)

6 pints (3.5 litres) water

White granulated sugar (or jam sugar or preserving sugar)

Method

Thinly pare the peel with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. I used a vegetable peeler.

Finely slice the peel

Put the peel in a pan with 1 pint (600mls) water, bring gently to the boil and simmer for 20 -  30 minutes. Meanwhile roughly chop the peeled fruit and place in a large preserving pan with 5 pints (3 litres) of water.  Ensure you include all the pips, pith and juice of the peeled fruit.  Drain the peel and set aside, reserving the liquid which should be added to the fruit in the preserving pan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 - 2 hours.

The method now follows the process in the previous recipe - allow the fruit pulp to cool a little then put into a jelly bag and leave to strain for 6 hours or overnight

Measure the drained liquid....

Pour the liquid into a preserving pan, warm gently adding sugar (1lb/450g for each pint/600mls of liquid) and stir until all sugar has dissolved. Add the drained peel and bring rapidly to the boil and keep boiling until the setting point is reached (see previous recipe).

Allow the pan and contents to cool a little, stir to ensure that the peel is evenly distributed then pour into sterilised jars and seal.

Enjoy!

John Austin

Hove February 2018

ORANGES, LEMONS AND LIMES (1)

Lemon marmalade - Recipe 1 Thick cut marmalade

Early February and the markets in Spain are full of oranges and lemons

Oranges 3 kilos for 1 €uro

Lemons were slightly more expensive at 2 kilos for 1€ but at that price we had to bring some home. (Just a thought but will we be able to bring fruit from Spain into the UK after Brexit?)

Lemons were slightly more expensive at 2 kilos for 1€ but at that price we had to bring some home.  But what should we do with them?  We could slice them and freeze for use with Gin and Tonic - but that's a lot of G'n'T....and we have enough Preserved Lemons to last us well into 2018 and almost everyone on our Christmas gift list has already had a jar - so we decided to make lemon marmalade.

It's a long time since I made marmalade so I consulted a few recipes to get the proportions right but in the end the important rule to remember is 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of juice for us pre-metric generation (that's 450 grams of sugar to 600 mls of fruit juice). In the end I decided to make clear marmalade with peel, adapting a Lemon jelly recipe.

We had almost 3 kg lemons and as I also had a couple of spare limes, added these to bring the total to 3 kg.   I made 3 batches - the first thick cut marmalade and then one with shredded peel and the last with added ginger.

Ingredients

1 kg lemons
3.5 litres (6 pints) water
Granulated or Jam sugar

Method

Cut the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Remove any stalk and trim the ends. 

Remove any stalk and trim the ends. Remove the central core (I find this easy with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors).  Remove all the pips.  Keep all of the trimmings and central core that you have removed and put in a large preserving pan with 3 litres (5 pints) of water. Boil gently for about 1 - 2 hours then leave to cool.

Take the lemon quarters and cut the peel with any fruit attached into slices - as chunky or as fine as you want.

Place this peel in another saucepan with 600 mls (1 pint) of water and boil for about half an hour until the peel is soft.  Strain the peel, preserving the liquid which should be added to the preserving pan containing the pips and core.

When the large pan has been boiling for 1-2 hours,  pour contents into a jelly bag and strain  for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Discard the contents of the jelly bag and measure the quantity of strained liquid.

You can squeeze the jelly bag into the strained liquid - this will aid the setting but will result in a less clear marmalade. The juice will be cloudy at this time but it will gradually clear as it is boiled with the sugar

Put the strained peel into a large pan and pour in the measured liquid

Heat the pan gently and stir in the sugar - 1 lb / 450g to every 1 pint / 600mls juice - continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.  Heat to boiling and then fast boil until a set is obtained (probably about 15-20 minutes). Watch the pan all the time and adjust the heat as necessary - the marmalade could froth up and spill over if you are not careful.  Test for a set by putting a few drops on a cold,dry plate and see if a skin forms - if not boil a little longer and test again. 

When the setting point is reached, leave to cool a little for a few minutes and stir to ensure the peel is evenly distributed.  Pour into clean sterilised jars and then screw on the lids.

Leave to cool and set overnight.  Enjoy on toast with afternoon tea!

John Austin

Hove February 2018

OUR ALLOTMENT - Life on The Weald January 2018

Life on The Weald January 2018

The weather has been mixed during January but we have certainly had a lot of rain.  I have had a few attempts at digging areas that have not yet been cleared but the ground is really too wet and it is difficult to shake any soil off the roots of the couch grass and bindweed which is plentiful.  With Luke's help, however, we have managed to dig up some buried carpet and plastic bags and remove a few brambles, but they are so deep rooted I am sure they will return.

With the threat of yet more rain we renewed the roof felt on the shed but now need to find some battens to ensure it stays on.  We applied the roof felt with roof felt adhesive and nailed down the edges but with strong winds around 15 January it began to lift on one corner and with the threat of gales for 17 and 18 January we had to take some emergency measures and have screwed and nailed on some odd pieces of wood as temporary battens  (with the intention of doing the job properly once we get a reasonably dry and calm day).  We have measured up and now need to find some suitable wood and cut battens to fit.   We did manage a bit of weeding in the raised bed where the broad beans have shown through and around some of the onions.  I have also sown another double row of Aquadulce broad beans.

The soil seems quite fertile so we didn't apply any manure in the autumn/early winter but we have a plentiful supply of home produced compost from our wormeries, some of which we will apply this month or next.  We haven't limed any of the areas where we propose to plant the broccoli and kale (and any other brassicas) so we will see how things go this year and do a soil test in the autumn. As we have only had half the plot for one complete season and the other half since late autumn, and are still in the process of clearing the site, we haven't yet organised the plots into zones for crop rotation but we will apply the rules to the raised beds as far as possible and get our zoning and rotation in order for the rest of the plot for 2019. We will follow the basic principles of crop rotation.

   Crop rotation

   For the simplest crop rotation, there are three groups of vegetables:

• root vegetables - beetroot, carrot, parsnip, potato etc
• brassicas - (the cabbage family) broccoli, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, swede,turnip, radish etc
• others - beans, celery, cucumber, marrows/courgettes, perpetual (beet) spinach, leeks, lettuce, peas, spinach, tomatoes 

The plot needs to be divided into three zones and the crops rotated as follows:

Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4
Roots	Others	Brassicas	As for Year 1
Brassicas	Roots	Others
Others	Brassicas	Roots

We will do our best!

We are only just discovering what crops were grown where on the half-plot we took on in October.  Whilst clearing the area to plant the last of our blackcurrant bushes we unearthed these potatoes

They had suffered a little from pest attack but most of it was near the surface and surprisingly, despite the fact that they should have been lifted months earlier, were remarkably good inside and provided an excellent mash.

I don't know the variety (possibly Desiree) but we have decided not to grow any late varieties of potatoes, only earlies.  Late varieties are important if you are aiming for self-sufficiency, but our major aims are difference, flavour and value.  Maincrop potatoes are (forgive the pun cheap as chips in the market and I don't find a great deal of difference in taste with homegrown, and they take up a lot of space for a long period. On the other hand, the taste of freshly lifted new potatoes is a "wow" experience at a time when first arrivals in the supermarkets are expensive (or imported from Cyprus or Egypt) and not nearly so tasty.

Having decided to grow only earlies - we may have a bit of a rethink.  We don't know what will do well on our new plot but we had success last year with Charlotte and Nicola on the old plots at Neville and Mile Oak. 

  Which potatoes to grow?

Nicola are a late variety but we grew them at the same time as the second earlies last year and they did well so we might try them again if we have room. (Actually we have the room, it’s a question of whether we can clear the space in time!)

We have bought three early varieties of certified seed potatoes, Rocket, Vivaldi and Charlotte.

According to the Sutton’s catalogue Rocket is a very early, heavy cropping, white waxy variety. Whilst planting in early to mid-March is recommended for cropping in early June, I have read somewhere that they can be planted in the south around late February and could possibly crop by the end of May but that pre-supposes no late frosts (last frosts in Hove are generally predicted for the last week of March). What you don't want is the young leaves appearing above ground before the last frost. Rocket appear to be susceptible to blight but, as this usually occurs later in the growing season (late July -August), hopefully we won’t be affected if we’ve lifted them all before then,  Garden Focused are a bit negative about their taste – we shall just have to wait and see.

Sutton’s recommend  planting Vivaldi and Charlotte in March. Vivaldi should be ready for lifting in June/July and Charlotte a little later from June through August.

The advertising blurb claims that Vivaldi, a second early, is lower in carbohydrates and calories than similar varieties but Garden Focused are a bit sceptical about these claims!

Charlotte now appears to be the post popular salad potato in the UK.  Variously described as a late first early and as a second early, they can be planted in March and harvested June-August and are resistant to blight and scab.

     To chit or not to chit

To chit means to encourage the potatoes to sprout.  It is advantageous to chit  early potatoes before planting as you will be planting them before the soil has warmed up and this may give you a crop a week or so earlier than otherwise.  Chitting is achieved by placing the potatoes in a tray (I use egg boxes) and placing them in a light, airy place indoors (although not in a heated room – a cool windowsill is a good place), unheated conservatory, cold greenhouse or garden shed, with the eyes pointing upwards. In the south-east of England this chitting process can start towards the end of January and later in the north.  Shoots will begin to grow from the “eyes” and the potatoes are ready for planting when the shoots are 2 -3 cms in length and the risk of frost has gone.( Earthing them up when planting can provide some protection from late frost)

I started to chit the Rocket potatoes in our unheated conservatory at home in the last week of January.

Now is the time to ensure that the raised beds are clear of weeds and a good time to add more nutrients to the soil.  We now have 4 wormeries on the go and have begun to spread the contents of the lower tiers on the surface of the beds.  Any unrotted material will continue to be broken down by worms, woodlice, beetles and other insects and a myriad of other organisms in the soil.

January has been one of the wettest on record and it has not been possible to do any digging on the cultivated areas - we need a good dry spell before even walking on the ground.  Fortunately we still have some vegetables to harvest.  We have already lifted the best leeks but we still have a few more which were planted out a little too late (and there are some baby ones still in the seed bed which we didn't transplant.

Leeks harvested January

A few cabbages remain which hopefully we can harvest before the slugs get them!

And we have a late harvest of Brussels sprouts

Sprouts, picked last week of January

The weather has been so miserable that we have decided to seek some warmth and sunshine in Spain for a few days and hope that by the time we return in the second week of February the ground will have dried out a bit.

John Austin

Hove, January 2018