Medlar Fruit - A Fruit as Vulgar as a Medieval Peasant

Medlar Fruit: A Fruit as Vulgar as a Medieval Peasant

The personal hygiene of medieval peasants is one shrouded in obscurity, replete with factual misinformation and mired in the mists of the distant past much like the mythical court of Camelot. Regardless of the actual frequency of medieval bathing, there’s one strange fruit that has fallen into the medieval privy and never gotten out – the medlar fruit. Even more obscure than the provincial quince, medlar fruit, like medieval bathing habits (or lack thereof), seem to have fallen forever out of habit.  

Even its name is vulgar, alluding to a certain body part – the “open-arse” fruit in blunt terms. In France, it’s known as cul de chien (dog’s bottom), an unfortunate colloquialism that the mellifluous French tongue does little to temper. 

Medlar is not an attractive fruit, resembling a monstrous rosehip that has been flayed open; its flesh is a dull brown that ripens to the color of rust. To add insult to injury, it’s meant to be savored when it’s far past due, not at the peak of ripeness like other fruit, in a process of controlled rotting known as ‘bletting.’ 

Not Like Other Fruits

The medlar rose to infamy in a series of features, ranging from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to Shakespeare’s plays, as a bawd, tawdry allegory for premature destitution. Many writers poked fun at the fruit’s odd shape, ripe for metaphor and subject to no shortage of lewd jokes. It’s entertained at the French and English courts, and was once a household craze in Roman times.

Yet, despite its storied past, it has vanished from dinner tables, seemingly purged from modern palates. What once was familiar in orchards in the Middle Ages and commonly depicted in medieval art now lies largely forgotten, a fruit so obscure that it has stumped even seasoned historians and professional botanists.

The only area that it is still widely grown is in parts of Central Asia and Iran, where it is used in folk medicine. Aside from being grown in botanical orchards as an educational curiosity, medlar has since yet to regain the popularity it once held – and likely never will. Nowadays, it grows mostly wild and falls to the ground, where they remain untouched, save for by wild animals. 

Even in the professional sphere, it seems destined that the unfortunate medlar will always be associated with the posterior end. In 2010, archeologists excavating a Roman midden (cesspit) in Eschern, Switzerland, in what was once called Tasgetium during the Roman occupation, made a surprising discovery. Among the remains of familiar fruits such as plums and cherries were 19 unknown seeds, expertly preserved by the boggy conditions of the site. They have proved to be so obscure that even professional botanists had a hard time identifying the strange seeds (BBC). 

Old and Ugly, But Tasty?

The first two words are commonly used to describe a washed-up has-been, but certainly not the last. Medlar is subversive in that it is allegedly tasty, at least according to those who have savored its taste. Once properly bletted, the flesh is said to taste like a cinnamon apple with a hint of wine – an explosive, complex flavor. 

The fact that it’s harvested in winter and is only edible when rotten more than likely contributes to its unpopularity. To clarify, it is not actually ‘rotten,’ but has rather been subject to an internal physiological process that produces an overripe consistency that resembles as such to the untrained eye.   

Growing Your Own Medlar Tree

The common medlar, Mespilus germanica, is considered the sole member of its genus, though you might stumble upon a second member, christened Stern’s medlar in reference to an unusual hybrid discovered by an environmentalist, Jane Ellenbogen Stern, back in 1969. 

If you’ve ever been to a Ren faire, then you know the fun of being a knight (or princess) for a day. Growing a medlar tree will be a little more time intensive, but can be worth it to purveyors of strange fruit or medieval enthusiasts. It is occasionally used in landscaping – in spring, it bursts into showy sprays of white flowers that resemble pear blossoms. 

• Where to Buy Medlar: While unusual, medlar can be brought at local nurseries or farms, and careful research can yield results in the area. When buying medlar trees, look to reputable nurseries instead of sketchy online sites. 
• Rootstock: Sometimes medlar is grafted onto a rootstock – a related species of the fruit – in this case, either hawthorn, pear, or quince. This can have a semi-dwarfing effect that produces more compact trees. 

• Medlar Cultivation: Medlar can tolerate a wide range of climates, from the steppes of Eurasia to the cold frontiers of Western Europe, including areas that regularly experience freezes. It is cold hardy, prefers full sun, and will grow in a wide range of soil conditions except for heavily alkali or chalky soils.  
• Harvesting Medlar: Once you notice the fruit start to ripen, it is ready to be picked. When they are harvested in late October, some will have already begun to ripen in sporadic patches. If you were to bite into it then, it would be very astringent, unpalatable, and ingestible, sure to spell a trip to the bathroom. 
• Bletting a Medlar: To blet the medlar, keep large batches in a cool cupboard lined with newspaper or some other spreading material. The fruit stems should be pointed towards the material. Within anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, the medlar will ripen, becoming pulpy and soft to the touchy, which is when they are ready to be eaten. They can also be kept in a fruit bowl and left to ripen. 

Recipes for Medlar

Medlar was once used in jams, jellies, puddings and other accompaniments to meat. It’s particularly fitting for those seeking to revive quaint, medieval-inspired foods for a fun occasion, whether you’re a Lord of the Rings aficionado or a fan of the incredibly obscure Kaamelott (yes, it’s spelled like that) comedy show. Here are a few recipes, including the making of medlar ‘cheese,’ that you can try.