I made an experiment last year with frozen medlars and hawthorns. I had never frozen them before, so I wanted to see if it was worth it. I tried a couiple of medlars about a week or two later, and I didn't think they were that great. I just pulled out the whole bag of them now, as medlars are becoming ripe for this year. They were delicious! Here's my interpretation: I was tasting Royal medlars last year. They are, IMHO, good but not great. The ones I tasted yesterday were clearly Nottinghams, which again, IMHO are really excellent. I think I will freeze a bunch of them again this year, at the end of the season, but pay more attention to them through the winter and spring.
On the hawthorns, they were edible. They look terrible! You couldn't really offer them to a guest, unless they were obsessive fruit growing types like us. They were chewy and they still had some of that flavor, but not all of it. Hawthorns are medicinal for your heart. The #1 killer of Americans is heart disease. While they might not taste quite as good and they look awful, I predict that I will freeze some because otherwise, you can't get them. They are probably better tasting, if uglier, than any other heart medicine. Free to me, too, at that point. No side effects, unlike statins.
John S
PDX OR
Here in SE Portland, turns out I had been walking past a medlar tree for years without realizing it.
A week ago it was bare of all leaves and with several hundred fruits still hanging, some on the ground.
Kind of festive if you are into brown Christmas lights.
I will keep an eye on it to see any evidence of harvesting.
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
1 Guest(s)