For this month, I have chosen the Medlar tree as it’s one of my absolute favourites, especially at this time of year!
The medlar tree is an ancient variety and was once extremely popular in Europe during the middle ages. You would have found them in most medieval monasteries and castles. Can you recognise the fruit from old paintings?
Being in the same family as apples they are closely related, even so, that when apples started to be cultivated during the agricultural boom meddlers got forgotten about. This isn’t because they are not great in their own right though they are simply not perishable once picked.
Medlars need to go through a cold period so they can blet on the tree. The last few nights of frost here in Melbourne should see them ripen this week. The cold softens them and some even say they look like rotten fruit. They taste like stewed apple though and can be turned into jams and jellies to preserve.
Another reason I love this tree is it is harvested in winter when not much else is, so from a food security point of view it is always important to have something fruiting through all seasons.
