Medlar

[plantsnobin]

I planted a 'Breda Giant' medlar from One Green World about 3-4 years ago. Last year it produced one fruit, which I accidentally knocked off while giving it a sqeeze to see if it was soft yet. This year it produced a few, all but one shriveled up prematurely. I left the one on the tree until after a good frost, then let it soften a bit in the house. Tried it today, I would have to describe it as 'pithy'. No taste really, just nothingness. At least it didn't taste all out bad. My husband was in the kitchen and said 'you aren't really going to eat that are you?' I said I had to in the name of research. So, I would have to say that if you are thinking about planting a medlar and you haven't eaten one yet, save yourself the cost of the tree until you can find one to taste.
Do any of our European members have a different experience with it? Surely there must be something I am missing, maybe you don't usually eat it raw?

[mjc]

Did you happen to save the seeds?

They are able to be grown from seed, layered or grafted. Also, as far as grafting them, quince and hawthorn are often used as rootstock for them.

They don't absolutely need a second one (self-fertile) but probably do better with a second tree for pollination.

[rockguy]

Years ago, before I was as much into plants as I am now, I owner a property that had an old fence along the back with all sorts of fence-row trees and bushes grown up in it. The elec company bush-hogged the sides of the row every 4 years or so. One day I was hunting and saw a small tress in the fence that had "crabapples" on it. I thought they were the oddest crabs, the fruit didn't completely cover the seeds! It was years later before I read that Medlars have their seeds at the blossom end, visible. That place has been sold but I sometimes think about that tree and wonder....

[orflo]

I have a medlar in the garden, I hope it's this one you have to: mespilus germanica, and not the Japanese medlar, eriobotrya japonica (it's just too cold over here to grow that one, although I know some sheltered spots where some are l thriving).
Medlar fruits taste a bit like apple puree, and they're not too bad, and certainly not untasty (not everone likes the taste, but that's another discussion ). One tree is enough, they are self-pollinating, and fruits form easily whenever the tree is just about 4-5 years old. The fruits form slowly during sommertime and they are harvested very late, I usually harvest mine in December (if the birds left some for me at that time). An old saying, over here in Belgium, is that they're only good when they had some minor frosts (which isn't exactly true, it's only a consequence of the late harvest), and another saying is that they should be 'rotten' when harvested, and that is true, when they're still hard and tough they're unpleasant and tasteless, but the taste develops when they rot. They change colour a bit during this proces, I'll see if I have some pictures of that changing colour pattern, from greyish brown to red-brown. Varieties over here have the seeds on the inside...

[plantsnobin]

I have decided that I will let my tree live and give it another chance, at least until next year.
The texture of the one I ate was pithy, kind of 'mummified' if you will. I am wondering if it was maybe just the weather or something that caused the texture, as I really was expecting it to age to an applesauce kind of thing. Maybe not, we'll see how it goes next year. The size was also not what I expected, very small for a tree call Breda Giant. About half the size of a golf ball.

[johno]

I've been interested in medlars for a while now. I am curious to see if the fruit improves after the tree is older.

[steev]

Ate my first medlar this week, Breda Giant. I'd picked the crop a month ago as they were starting to drop and left them in the pump-house to blet. Some are clearly going bad, but the one I tried was squishy and when opened had whitish flesh. The taste was unimpressive, but not tannic, not much flesh, plenty of seed. It's not something I'd grow a lot of, but in a pinch, it's doubtless nutritious and better than nothing. Size ranged from nearly ping-pong ball on down; next year I'll thin the crop, to see if that will produce larger fruit. I think, like roses, the plant's decorative value is greater than its use as food.

[rowan]

I have a few friends who grow medlars and I used to. I don't think I will ever purchase another tree as the fruits are all seed and it is a pain to try and get anything worth eating from them. That said, I will accept fruit when it is offered as I love them stewed with custard, although it is annoying trying to remove the tiny amount of flesh from the seeds.
If the fruit was 'mummified' it is likely that they were picked too unripe, they will shrink and wrinkle without bletting if that is the case. If they are ripe enough they should blet after about 3-4 weeks from picking and go soft and dark brown.

I love the trees as they are so ornamental, and small as you have found, it is the fruit that is 'giant', well not compared to other fruit, but big for a medlar, lol.

[Deleted]

I was interested in collecting seed, because I thought of it as a historic plant.

I read about it's use as a food and am wondering whether the taste is improved by cooking.

[steev]

To me, the taste is not pronounced, but I may be as taste-impaired as I am tone-deaf; I can't imagine how cooking it would amplify its taste, which is what it needs IMHO.

[johno]

I'm working on germinating some seeds - got them in the fridge in moist peat.

[richardw]

I know that there's an 100+year old Medlar not far from here,i might ask the bloke who owns the old homestead where the tree is if i can go and have a look at it,if its got fruit it would just about be the time of year when it ripening

[nicollas]

There are cultivars without seeds. And it seems to be a cultivar without seeds *and* with big fruits. But this cultivar is rare and mysterious.

[Deleted]

Colchicine treatment supposedly results in extra large fruits, with vestigial seeds.

[nicollas]

Funny, yesterday i'v found articles about the use of colchicine to create a tetraploid caragana, to increase seed this time :

perrenial-food-crops.proboards.com/thread/20/caragana-perennial-cold-hardy-shrub