Medlar Trees

The medlar fruit stands out as unique among the world's amazing fruit selections. This unusual fruit tree is rare in America for some unexplained, unknown reason that produces one of those “never-heard-of” fruits with a powerful musky, fruity aroma and a flavor that Ty Ty describes as a combination of the tastes of fig, kumquat, loquat and Persian dates. The consistency of the pulp is like baked sweet potatoes, the color of brown sugar and many subtle overtones of over-ripe, white or green grapes. Other observers describe the taste of the medlar fruit as similar to chocolate pudding or spiced apple sauce, however, these later descriptions are exceeding lacking and oversimplified because of the combination and complexity of several flavors merged into an indescribable pleasurable and aromatic bliss. Notable French chefs have described the medlar fruit as “fruit de fantaisie” and in California where some fruit can be bought at local gourmet stores, the price exceeds $4.00 per pound.

For many centuries the medlar fruit was extensively grown in Europe for winter eating before refrigeration was invented, and then the medlar fruit flavor seemed to benefit from frosts and freezes on the trees- much as the Japanese persimmon and some pears do in America. The medlar is astringent much like the Tanenashi persimmon cultivar and green pears, and the fruit can be picked off the tree in December when hard and allowed to ripen and soften until the full flavors and aromas develop fully. The fruit can also be eaten when left on the tree to soften after frost, and the medlar loses its astringency. In Europe this softening of the medlar fruit is called the “bletting” process, whether left on the tree to soften or to pick off the tree prematurely to ripen later. As the amazing green medlar fruit ripens, the interior of the fruit is white that dramatically changes color to that of brown sugar.

In European Royal Courts the medlar was considered the ideal fruit to accompany drinking the finest wines, and French chefs view the smokey earthy taste of the medlar fruit to be equivalent to expensive gourmet items such as the mushroom, truffles, morels, and cavier. Other uses of the medlar fruit is in the preparation of preserves, syrups, tarts, pies and jelly. In Europe the medlar is used as a winter dessert by roasting the fruit in butter and cloves.

The medlar grows into a small pest free tree to 20 feet or into a large bush that is deciduous in nature. The leaves are 1 to 1 ½ inches wide and 2-6 inches long with a bright waxy-green color, and during the fall the medlar leaves turn into a yellow blaze then a spectacular red color. The leaf underside is silver in color. The medlar tree is remarkably cold hardy surviving temperatures of minus 25 degrees F and appears to grow well in all the U.S. States from zones 4 to 9, however, to set fruit some cold temperatures are always required to be near freezing. Very few fruit trees are adaptable to such wide temperature fluctuations as the medlar tree, and the plant is very slow growing but adapted to most soil types that are well drained. The Medlar tree itself is considered to be one of the most beautifully formed landscape specimens and is well adapted for pot culture, to handily be used as a patio plant.

The Medlar tree is virtually unknown among fruit growers in the United States, but in Europe and the Mideast especially Iran, Iraq and Turkey, the medlar has been grown as a home orchard fruit for centuries, and it is one of the few winter trees that offers a delicious aromatic fruit for winter consumption. Because the Medlar tree is so cold hardy, it often bears fruit when most other fruit trees fail to produce because of late spring frosts or freezing temperatures. The medlar fruit ripens late in the fall and usually ripens over a long period of time, as late as December in Columbus, Georgia, after Japanese persimmons have finished ripening.