Medlar is a rather unusual plant. In nature, there are two species of these trees from the apple family. The fruits of some ripen in the spring, while others - in the autumn. So, having acquired both varieties, Japanese and German, on your plots, you can provide yourself with very tasty and extremely healthy fruits for a long period of time.
Raw food diet
However, everything is not so simple. Indeed, among the uninitiated, who first saw
unusual fruits , a completely legitimate question arises: "And what to do with them, like eating medlar?" Doubters reassure. They eat it raw (almost an apple, after all!), Prepare jelly, make jam, bake it, take it as a filling in pies and strudel. And also, of course, make compotes and juices. Even wine and liquor. Here is a wide range of applications! But first things first. And let's start with how to eat loquat natural (raw). They wash the fruits well so that the fluff comes off the skin. Bite and chew. The fully ripe fruit tastes very pleasant, sweet and sour, reminiscent of the taste of quince or high-quality winter apples. The medlar is eaten to the core, as are the above products. True, eating it, we must not forget about such nuances. The fruit holds the stomach together well, so people suffering from constipation and not knowing very well how to eat medlar should be advised to do this with caution and not more than 1-2 fruits per day. Also, do not get carried away with an “exotic apple” for those who have stomach or intestinal ulcers, gastritis, and increased acidity. But renal colic is much easier to carry, and stones from the gallbladder come out faster if this fruit appears on the patient’s table regularly. Here is a feature of the tangent of how to eat fresh medlar.
Medlar blanks
What delicious can you cook from the fruits of a Japanese or German tree?
- Let's start with the juices. Sort the fruits, wash, cut in half to clean the seeds. Then cut into slices, load into a juice cooker. If medlar is preserved in this way for the winter (fruit as is, without other additives), pour sugar into a jar of hot liquid (half a glass of 3 liters) and immediately roll up so that the juice does not cool. And if you want to make a small amount and drink fresh, put the slices in a juicer and drink a natural drink or with a small addition of honey.
- Now jelly. It turns out very tasty, beautiful raspberry red. For 2 kg of the main product you will need 600 gr. sugar, half a liter of water and 2 lemons. Just pay attention: the medlar should lie down in the refrigerator container or just in a cool place until the fruits turn brown and soft. Fresh fruits are not very suitable for cooking. Peel them from the peel and seeds, cut into slices. Along the way, we answer the question of whether it is possible to eat medlar bones. No, but if you dry them, grind, and then cook them, a good substitute for coffee will come out. Those who are banned from caffeine, by the way, do so often. But back to the jelly. Put the prepared fruit in a saucepan for cooking, pour water to cover the fruits. Let it boil and boil for an hour and a half over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Then strain and rub the thicken through cheesecloth or thick sieve. Pour sugar and squeezed lemons juice into the resulting liquid. Boil again. Check the density of the jelly by picking a little product in a spoon. Freezes - everything is ready, remove from heat.
No - cook another 5-10 minutes. Then pour the hot mass into prepared sterile jars and close. You can store a treat for a year.
Tasty loquat!