May 16, 2001

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benhall.1
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 2:48 pm I figure I'd install it as a community tree. Want some medlars? Bundle up and freely pick what you need; just leave some for the rest of us. Not that I anticipate a huge surge, but I've got a restaurateur across the street, and I think he would be very interested, especially from the jelly-and-duck standpoint. He'd probably be the only proprietor in town with medlar jelly, or at least having local terroir. Seasonality's being more pursued these days, too, and medlars fill that niche.

I understand that centuries past, the done thing for the high and mighty was to have them with sherry, scooping out the flesh with a spoon. The spoon thing sounds likely for me; I'm not the kitchen god you are.
The closest I can come to the taste of the ripe fruits, scooped out and eaten with a spoon, is that they taste nearly exactly like stewed apple and custard. Somehow, that taste, combined with the mushy, brown, rotten-looking fruit, is not appealing. Hence the need to do something else with the fruits.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 3:07 pm
Nanohedron wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 2:48 pm I figure I'd install it as a community tree. Want some medlars? Bundle up and freely pick what you need; just leave some for the rest of us. Not that I anticipate a huge surge, but I've got a restaurateur across the street, and I think he would be very interested, especially from the jelly-and-duck standpoint. He'd probably be the only proprietor in town with medlar jelly, or at least having local terroir. Seasonality's being more pursued these days, too, and medlars fill that niche.

I understand that centuries past, the done thing for the high and mighty was to have them with sherry, scooping out the flesh with a spoon. The spoon thing sounds likely for me; I'm not the kitchen god you are.
The closest I can come to the taste of the ripe fruits, scooped out and eaten with a spoon, is that they taste nearly exactly like stewed apple and custard. Somehow, that taste, combined with the mushy, brown, rotten-looking fruit, is not appealing. Hence the need to do something else with the fruits.
Well, I could always make an exception and make a project out of it. Medlar jelly for all! What's your recipe?
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Tribal musician
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benhall.1
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 3:13 pm
benhall.1 wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 3:07 pm
Nanohedron wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 2:48 pm I figure I'd install it as a community tree. Want some medlars? Bundle up and freely pick what you need; just leave some for the rest of us. Not that I anticipate a huge surge, but I've got a restaurateur across the street, and I think he would be very interested, especially from the jelly-and-duck standpoint. He'd probably be the only proprietor in town with medlar jelly, or at least having local terroir. Seasonality's being more pursued these days, too, and medlars fill that niche.

I understand that centuries past, the done thing for the high and mighty was to have them with sherry, scooping out the flesh with a spoon. The spoon thing sounds likely for me; I'm not the kitchen god you are.
The closest I can come to the taste of the ripe fruits, scooped out and eaten with a spoon, is that they taste nearly exactly like stewed apple and custard. Somehow, that taste, combined with the mushy, brown, rotten-looking fruit, is not appealing. Hence the need to do something else with the fruits.
Well, I could always make an exception and make a project out of it. Medlar jelly for all! What's your recipe?
Up to 5 or 6 lb of fruit, halved, in a large stock pot. One quarter of the fruit should be unelected, but don't worry too much if it isn't. One pint of water per pound of fruit. Boil for up to an hour, lid off, until the fruit is completely mushy. Tip into jelly bag over large bowl to drain overnight. Next day measure juice and weigh out 1 lb of sugar per pint of juice. By the way, the juice will be a nasty, yellowish brown at this stage. Bring the juice to the boil, heat the sugar, then add the warmed sugar to the juice. Boil until setting point is reached. You have to do the usual tests - cooled saucer, small amount tipped on with teaspoon, wait 1 minute and check if it's formed a skin by dragging your finger across it. But medlars also give you a visual clue - when ready, the liquid turns a rich red. Remove scum periodically with a perforated scum spoon. When setting point is reached, pour into jam jars sterilised with boiling water, using a jam funnel and a ladle. Put lids on immediately.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 11:12 pm One quarter of the fruit should be unelected ...
I've had plenty enough of politics lately, thank you very much.

I've never heard of heating sugar before. How and why is this done? Otherwise, sounds pretty straightforward, canning-wise (something I've never pursued personally, but have the general idea).
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:17 pm
benhall.1 wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 11:12 pm One quarter of the fruit should be unelected ...
I've had plenty enough of politics lately, thank you very much.

I've never heard of heating sugar before. How and why is this done? Otherwise, sounds pretty straightforward, canning-wise (something I've never pursued personally, but have the general idea).
Bloody autocorrect! I typed "unbletted"!

Heating the sugar helps get it into the warmed fruit juice quicker and helps prevent burning of the juice. It does make a difference. Sometimes I don't bother, but it's better when I do.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

an seanduine wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 8:16 pm The Portuguese mistook loquats for medlars when they encountered them in Japan in the 1600´s. Their name for them was japanese medlar-nesperas japonicas.
If I lived in the South I would absolutely have a loquat in the yard. Bay laurel, too. But hazels (the kind with the nuts, not witch hazels) are suited to the MN climate, and they're my favorite nut of all. Might be a genetic trait. I've thought about planting one of those, too. I'd like to leave a bit of a legacy in the matter of urban foraging.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by an seanduine »

I don´t know medlars except for what I read. They do sound like a fun thing to eat, sort of like hachiya persimmons served with with sour cream. Hazels, on the other hand, I do know. They grow in my overgrown elderly orchard. They do come with some costs. Out here they are subject to various diseases and rots, and so they can randomly ´come down´, a matter of some concern when it involves a four inch forty foot tree. I never get any hazelnuts anymore, since I suffer from a horde of invasive gray squirrels.

Bob
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:46 pmHeating the sugar helps get it into the warmed fruit juice quicker and helps prevent burning of the juice. It does make a difference. Sometimes I don't bother, but it's better when I do.
How do you go about heating the sugar?
an seanduine wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:48 pm Hazels, on the other hand, I do know. They grow in my overgrown elderly orchard. They do come with some costs. Out here they are subject to various diseases and rots, and so they can randomly ´come down´, a matter of some concern when it involves a four inch forty foot tree. I never get any hazelnuts anymore, since I suffer from a horde of invasive gray squirrels.
Squirrels we have, already. Not sure I like the idea of encouraging a population boom, now that you mention it.
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Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe

Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

an seanduine wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:48 pm I don´t know medlars except for what I read. They do sound like a fun thing to eat, sort of like hachiya persimmons served with with sour cream. Hazels, on the other hand, I do know. They grow in my overgrown elderly orchard. They do come with some costs. Out here they are subject to various diseases and rots, and so they can randomly ´come down´, a matter of some concern when it involves a four inch forty foot tree. I never get any hazelnuts anymore, since I suffer from a horde of invasive gray squirrels.

Bob
I think you must have a different species from what we have. Wiki says that the hazel that we have (corylus avellana) can reach 25m in height but typically is 3-8m in heght. I must admit, they are almost always about 15 foot tall around here.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 4:11 pm
benhall.1 wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:46 pmHeating the sugar helps get it into the warmed fruit juice quicker and helps prevent burning of the juice. It does make a difference. Sometimes I don't bother, but it's better when I do.
How do you go about heating the sugar?
I put it in a pan with a lid on and either put the pan on a very low heat or put the pan in the simmering oven of the Aga.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 12:40 am
Nanohedron wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 4:11 pm
benhall.1 wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:46 pmHeating the sugar helps get it into the warmed fruit juice quicker and helps prevent burning of the juice. It does make a difference. Sometimes I don't bother, but it's better when I do.
How do you go about heating the sugar?
I put it in a pan with a lid on and either put the pan on a very low heat or put the pan in the simmering oven of the Aga.
Not hot enough or long enough to melt it, I presume.
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by an seanduine »

benhall.1 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 12:38 am
I think you must have a different species from what we have. Wiki says that the hazel that we have (corylus avellana) can reach 25m in height but typically is 3-8m in heght. I must admit, they are almost always about 15 foot tall around here.
Ben, I certainly think that´s possible. Can´t say for certain. These trees are ´volunteers´ around the margin of the small remnant of an orchard. Before this parcel passed into my family´s hands it was ¨the forest primeval¨, initially logged off about 1860. This area was cultivated out as an orchard. My family came here around the Klondike Strike in 1896, and it was second-growth and ´naturalized´ fruit trees. Mostly alders, maples, and ´filberts´ along with some played out heritage apples and cherries. If these ´filberts´ were invasive bolts from Oregon, to the south of us, they would be from cultivars brought over from Spain, in about 1860. Otherwise, I dunno :)

Bob
Last edited by Nanohedron on Thu May 27, 2021 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Readability
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
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benhall.1
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Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe

Re: May 16, 2001

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 2:17 pm
benhall.1 wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 12:40 am
Nanohedron wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 4:11 pm How do you go about heating the sugar?
I put it in a pan with a lid on and either put the pan on a very low heat or put the pan in the simmering oven of the Aga.
Not hot enough or long enough to melt it, I presume.
That's right. Definitely not enough to melt it. It just needs to be warm, not hot. The simmering oven on the Aga is perfect for that. If you can't figure out a way, it works without doing that - it's just that jelly is easier if you do. It's a bit like the fact that I can whip up a batch of mayonnaise with a hand whisk, but it's easier with an electric whisk - on slow(ish).
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Re: May 16, 2001

Post by Nanohedron »

Did some looking, Bob, and apparently the rot/fungus issues you cite concerning hazel are endemic to the West Coast, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Something in the water, you could say.

(I edited your post, too, to put the quoted bits in their proper layout. I don't think I'll be doing that again, or at least citing why when doing it; I prefer working more or less in the shadows. :wink: )
benhall.1 wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:25 am The simmering oven on the Aga is perfect for that.
Here we go again with Right Pond/Left Pond terminologies. I'm unfamiliar with the term "simmering oven". If we Lefties have them, apparently we call them something else.

****************

Did some more looking, and it looks like a simmering oven's an AGA thing. I'd just have to set my generic oven to around somewhere under 200F.
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