Medlars

 This is the perfect time of year to find properly ripe Medlars.  This unusual fruit is distantly related to the rosehip. The taste of the flesh is somewhat akin to an apple with a nutty vanilla taste.  They can be made into a pectin rich jelly.  I had a go at this last year on a blog post here.

 In the Spring, the Medlar tree has wonderful, large flowers.

 For many years in many countries the appearance of the blossom end of the Medlar has been likened to a Dogs Bottom!... in fact the language used in France is 'Un bout de chien' literally translated as 'Dogs Arse'!! I will leave this to your imagination.. have a look at my finished product here as I labelled the Medlar jelly last year.

 The key feature of eating a ripe Medlar is that it is left on the tree to ripen to such a degree that it goes soft and brown. This process is called 'bletting'  a properly bletted Medlar is soft and sweet. This takes a while of cold, even frosty weather to ripen to a delicious, soft flesh.

So from one dog's bottom to another... Leo says hello!