The Medlar (Mespilus germanica)

Anytime soon now, you can find an unusual, small fruit in Mallorca’s markets, the Nespro. Outside of Spain, this fruit is rather known as the Medlar (Mespilus germanica), but it is really quite rarely seen. The Medlar used to be a quite common fruit in times bygone but is very rarely cultivated today to my knowledge. A century ago one might have rounded off dinner with a glass of Port, hazelnuts and a few medlars eaten with a spoon straight out of the skin.

The Medlar tree is not widely seen nowadays, even though it would be quite attractive in one’s garden.

The fruit can be harvested in late autumn whilst still hard and then needs to be bletted before it can be eaten raw. This involves storing it, stalk end upwards, in a cool place for a short while until it is on the point of (but not quite) rotting, a state described as incipient decay. At this stage the flesh turns from white to brown, becomes very soft and is quite sweet with a delicious flavour that somewhat resembles a luscious tropical fruit. Nespros can be eaten raw or cooked and would make a nice jelly due to the high concentration of pectin in them, to be eaten with roast pork, for instance. Apparently, the Medlar fruit is also used in the winemaking process, but I am not sure that this is the case in Mallorca. I will have to find out.

The Medlar is a relatively slow-growing tree, which means that the wood is rather hard. In earlier days, this wood was used to make spearpoints, clubs and fighting sticks for the hunt and for warfare. Later the wood was used for making parts of windmills, especially some of the turning wheels.

The pulp of the fruit is laxative. The leaves are astringent. The seed is lithontripic. It is ground up for use, but caution should be employed since the seeds contain the toxin hydrocyanic acid. The bark has been used as a substitute for quinine, but with uncertain results.

~ by plantarium on October 18, 2009.