Medlars have been cultivated more as an ornamental shrub in recent decades, displaying attractive white flowers in spring and forming interesting gnarled branches. The very tasty fruits, which are currently experiencing a renaissance, are only harvested late in the year. Fresh from the tree, however, they are inedible because they contain many tannins. These are broken down by cold and the stone fruit tastes aromatically sweet.
If the medlar harvest was too large, the fruits can be frozen
Store loquats in the freezer
Unripe medlars have a hard, light-colored flesh. After the first frost, the fruits ferment. The flesh becomes soft, acquires a brownish color and becomes pleasantly sweet.
You can also determine when the medlars will ripen yourself by harvesting the medlars at the end of October and storing them in the freezer. Fermentation starts immediately after thawing and you can continue to use the medlars or enjoy them raw.
Prepare medlars for freezing
- Run water into the sink and wash the fruit thoroughly.
- Pluck off all the leaves, the medlars are not cored.
- Also leave the blossom base on the medlar fruit.
- Pat dry and fill into a suitable container.
- Store in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
- If you want to eat the fruit fresh, only thaw as many as you need.
Processing medlars
You can simply enjoy the thawed medlars raw. The skin is edible, but often a bit tough.
- Halve the loquat.
- Scoop out the stones with a spoon.
- Scrape the flesh from the skin.
If you want to use the frozen medlars to make jam or jelly, cut off the base of the blossom and remove the skin and seeds. Unfortunately, due to the doughy consistency of the pulp, these cannot be squeezed out like with plums.
For mush, briefly boil the medlars with a little water. Pass everything through a sieve and season with a little apple juice, vanilla and cinnamon.
tips
The medlar is valuable winter food for birds. Therefore, always leave some fruit on the tree for your feathered garden dwellers when you harvest the medlar.