...as part of a slow movement that is reviving it
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210...rld-forgot
EXCERPTS: The polite, socially acceptable name by which it's currently known is the medlar. But for the best part of 900 years, the fruit was called the "open-arse" – thought to be a reference to the appearance of its own large "calyx" or bottom. The medlar's aliases abroad were hardly more flattering...
[...] The fruit reached its peak in the 1600s when it was widely grown across England – as ordinary as apples, pears, mulberries and quince. ... Once a household name, described by one Roman commentator as amounting "almost to a craze", now the medlar is primarily grown as a romantic relic from the past – a niche plant for eccentric gardeners and a historical curiosity at palaces and museums.
[...] The fruit are unusual for two reasons. Firstly, they're harvested in December – making them one of very few sources of sugar that would have been available in medieval winters. Secondly, they only become edible when they're rotten ... Apart from the obvious sexual allusions that can be made with a fruit with so many vulgar nicknames, it's thought that the medlar's quirky need for rotting partly explains why they made it into so many literary works – medieval audiences lapped up the symbolism of a fruit that is rotten before it's ripe...
[...] However, bletting may also have been the medlar's downfall. The fruit was still a familiar winter staple throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and during World War Two, the British government encouraged people to forage for it ,,, Then soon afterwards, it vanished from the shops forever. One possible reason is that tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapples became cheaper, and these are harvested year-round, so there was no longer any need for this winter delicacy.
But Jane Steward's experiences in the industry also hint that the awkward extra step of bletting, combined with the fact that no one wants to spend days outside picking fruit in the winter, may have helped to finish it off. "We have romantic notions about sunny days and wicker baskets and open toe sandals in this country – not standing around on short-daylight days harvesting fruit," she says.
Today medlar trees can still be found scattered across Europe, sometimes posing as hedges in the countryside or ornamental trees in gardens – they're still there, but they have to be tracked down. [...] But this is not quite the end of the story.
In the medlar's native territory near the Caspian Sea, the fruit remains as popular as ever. It's still widely grown in Iran, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Turkey, where it's sold in markets as musmula. Steward says she once received a message from a Kyrgyzstani family who had moved to England and were desperate to recreate the experience of foraging for wild medlars that they had to leave behind.
The plant also has a long history as a folk medicine in the region. In the rural province of Gīlān in northern Iran, medlar leaves, bark, fruits and wood are traditionally used to treat a range of ailments, such as diarrhoea, stomach bloating and menstrual irregularities. Intriguingly, this is similar to how it was used in medieval Europe...
Fast-forward to 2021, and the medlar is now not quite so little-known in Europe as it once was. It's begun quietly sneaking back into public awareness – largely thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts such as Steward, who markets her own range of medlar products, including jam and gin. If the trend continues, perhaps the fruit will soon have a new generation of unspeakable names to go by... (MORE - details)
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IKZsMNfRiRE
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210...rld-forgot
EXCERPTS: The polite, socially acceptable name by which it's currently known is the medlar. But for the best part of 900 years, the fruit was called the "open-arse" – thought to be a reference to the appearance of its own large "calyx" or bottom. The medlar's aliases abroad were hardly more flattering...
[...] The fruit reached its peak in the 1600s when it was widely grown across England – as ordinary as apples, pears, mulberries and quince. ... Once a household name, described by one Roman commentator as amounting "almost to a craze", now the medlar is primarily grown as a romantic relic from the past – a niche plant for eccentric gardeners and a historical curiosity at palaces and museums.
[...] The fruit are unusual for two reasons. Firstly, they're harvested in December – making them one of very few sources of sugar that would have been available in medieval winters. Secondly, they only become edible when they're rotten ... Apart from the obvious sexual allusions that can be made with a fruit with so many vulgar nicknames, it's thought that the medlar's quirky need for rotting partly explains why they made it into so many literary works – medieval audiences lapped up the symbolism of a fruit that is rotten before it's ripe...
[...] However, bletting may also have been the medlar's downfall. The fruit was still a familiar winter staple throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and during World War Two, the British government encouraged people to forage for it ,,, Then soon afterwards, it vanished from the shops forever. One possible reason is that tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapples became cheaper, and these are harvested year-round, so there was no longer any need for this winter delicacy.
But Jane Steward's experiences in the industry also hint that the awkward extra step of bletting, combined with the fact that no one wants to spend days outside picking fruit in the winter, may have helped to finish it off. "We have romantic notions about sunny days and wicker baskets and open toe sandals in this country – not standing around on short-daylight days harvesting fruit," she says.
Today medlar trees can still be found scattered across Europe, sometimes posing as hedges in the countryside or ornamental trees in gardens – they're still there, but they have to be tracked down. [...] But this is not quite the end of the story.
In the medlar's native territory near the Caspian Sea, the fruit remains as popular as ever. It's still widely grown in Iran, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Turkey, where it's sold in markets as musmula. Steward says she once received a message from a Kyrgyzstani family who had moved to England and were desperate to recreate the experience of foraging for wild medlars that they had to leave behind.
The plant also has a long history as a folk medicine in the region. In the rural province of Gīlān in northern Iran, medlar leaves, bark, fruits and wood are traditionally used to treat a range of ailments, such as diarrhoea, stomach bloating and menstrual irregularities. Intriguingly, this is similar to how it was used in medieval Europe...
Fast-forward to 2021, and the medlar is now not quite so little-known in Europe as it once was. It's begun quietly sneaking back into public awareness – largely thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts such as Steward, who markets her own range of medlar products, including jam and gin. If the trend continues, perhaps the fruit will soon have a new generation of unspeakable names to go by... (MORE - details)