Quince questions

[MikeH]

Dec 23, 2012 2:06:39 GMT -5 steev said:

Next year,

To Make a Tart of Medlers. Take Medlers that be rotten (bletted), and stamp them (smash them), and set them upon a chafin-dish with coales (heat over the fire), and beat two yolks of Eggs, boyling till it be somewhat thick, then season it with Sugar, Cinamon, and Ginger, and lay it in paste (pour into the crust).

Engraving from 'A Book of Fruits & Flowers. Shewing The Nature and Use of them, either for Meat or Medicine.' 1653 - as reproduced in 'Pomona's Harvest, An Illustrated Chronicle of Antiquarian Fruit Literature' by H. Frederic Janson, 1996.

[ottawagardener]

Sounds yummy once I ignore the word rotten, even betted.

How about: Take mellowed medlars and mix with eggs, sugar, cinnamon and ginger until uniformly textured. Pour into pastry shell and bake until set like pumpkin pie.

[Deleted]

Dec 22, 2012 19:36:47 GMT -5 MikeH said:

I wonder what would happen if you covered it with a cloth and let it sit for a bit. Probably bad science but then again bletting is a form of bad science except that it has a good outcome.

What they are calling a cheese is thickened fruit pulp -- comparable to fruit juice concentrate, which holds it shape when put in a mold.

What they are calling rotted/bletted, has just frozen and thawed. I assume they are just using dramatic figures of speech.

If the mash were stand for any length of time, I expect you would get fermented cider.

Dec 22, 2012 17:05:37 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

The Chinese also seem to like to pickle them; I've gotten containers of medlars in Chinatown preserved in a brine like liquid. Didn't like those (appearntly with the pickling the fruit is NOT bletted, and the resultant product is rock hard and a little dagerous to one's teeth to eat (medlars have HUGE stony pits)

Maybe, yours were loquat, or Japanese medlar?

The medlar seeds, which I ordered, are small.

[rowan]

Medlar seeds are large compared with the size of the fruit, maybe that is what was ment.

[blueadzuki]

Dec 29, 2012 13:39:42 GMT -5 rowan said:

Medlar seeds are large compared with the size of the fruit, maybe that is what was ment.

No I actually meant the seeds were ENORMOUS, about as long as my thumbnail. The fruit certainly looked like medlars (with the sepals cut off). I know they werent loquats, those look more like apricots and only have two seeds, not 5)

[rowan]

It is hard for me to imagine a medlar that looks like an apricot and with such large, and few, seeds. Sounds a bit suss, but I could be wrong.

[Deleted]

-- from vilmorin-tree-seeds

These look like the medlar seeds I got.

But, I'm seeing pics of nodules, like the ones in quinces and pears.

[blueadzuki]

Dec 29, 2012 20:04:09 GMT -5 @degzing said:

-- from vilmorin-tree-seeds

These look like the medlar seeds I got.

But, I'm seeing pics of nodules, like the ones in quinces and pears.

mine looked the same. Maybe there's some variability in seed size

This is what a loquat looks like

[templeton]

My medlars had big seeds, and not a whole lot of flesh - I didn't water them at all through the drought. I just left them on the tree until they were squishy - flavour, as described above, somewhat like apple butter.
Given the resilience of the plant, they may not be a mainstay crop, but one of those which will give some fruit in even the worst of years. So worthwhile if you have room.

Birds didn't touch mine.

Will pay a bit more attention this autumn.
T

[steev]

I'm sorry to bring reality to this subject, but bullshit is rife. Whatever the situation of medlar, bletted or not, they are lean of return, being much like rose-hips, to which they are closely related. The tree is very ornamental, the bloom being quite attractive, and the tree being generally pest-free.

[Deleted]

No offense taken. I said it was compared to an arse. When I bought the seeds, I thought medlar was interesting for being a historical novelty food. Wierd looking. But, on the more practical side, I am finding that tough foods also have good keeping qualities.

[Deleted]

Thanks very much for the unexpected medlar seeds, S.T. They will be well cared for.

[steev]

You probably want to scarify them, and maybe stratify. I'm interested to know how the plant fares in your climate, which I would not think hospitable, being less harsh than I think it's used to.

There really is such a thing as "killing with kindness".

I don't want to dissuade anyone from growing medlars, only from expecting an abundance of food from them; they are meager of production, but strong, as are their cousins, the quinces. Both of these fruits deserve wider planting than they have come to have, due, in my opinion, to the ignorance and sloth of modern culture. May we learn better before SHTF.

[Deleted]

I am hearing of fruits, which are neither self-sterile, nor self-fertile. They seem to do their best with pollinizers. I have also noticed that some of the bigger varieties seem to put out the same amount of energy -- only into fewer fruits. I had already bought some unidentified medlar seeds (one third the size of Breda Giant) and now hope they will help pollinize your improved variety.

Similar-looking loquats are very productive, in my area, and are possible fodder for breeding experiments.

Vernalized applseeds have been germinating by the bucketful -- a successful experiment. On a good year, a single tree will produce 3-4 bushels, here. Other possible frames of reference are the quince and flowering quince, both of which were successful, here, where it is not so beach-like.

We get weather from nearby beaches, mountains, and deserts, and I am learning to create a microclimate for almost anything.

I am sorry to say it, but, besides ignorance an sloth, I am encountering nihilism and growing disdain for anything wholesome. I can only call it evil, but am a good Samaritan wherever humanly possible. I don't believe we can ultimately save people form themselves but will help whenever someone wants it.

Where it is allowed, I firmly believe that the frank carrying capacity of the land can be improved well beyond the need.

[Deleted]

Breda Giant medlar (That must be a word play) is now germinating.

If they needed stratification, it wasn't much. Temps have, for the most part, been fluctuating from the high 40's to mid 70's.

At this early stage, the leaves look like a cross between quince and apples.