The medlars are a forgotten fruit that deserves to be rediscovered, valued and understood. Characterized by a juicy pulp which brings a pleasant note of acidity and balance even to the sweetest preparations, lend themselves to the preparation of many different recipes. Cheesecake, cakes and sorbets are ideal preparations to savor them with bites and spoon, but thanks to an interesting and different from the usual appetizer, you will discover that they are also delicious with a knife and fork.

The right time

The fruit can be produced from plants of the European species (and in this case it is usually harvested in October) or from the Japanese plant, paradoxically more widespread than the first also on our territory. Here the fruits ripen between March and June and are particularly suitable for being consumed naturally or used in the preparation of salads, cakes and creams. The European medlar instead, is usually harvested when it is very nature and used to prepare jams and preserves.

Rolls? Why not

If you want to prepare a quick and tasty appetizer, just wrap a bit of pulp in a slice of bacon and blanch these "packets" on a small non-stick pan.

In sauce

They are also perfect reduced to puree and emulsified with Greek yogurt, a pinch of salt and ground pepper. This very simple sauce to prepare is ideal to accompany raw shrimps, carpaccio and boiled octopus just cooked.

Caramelized

Remove the peel and the seeds, sprinkle the pulp fillets with brown sugar and heat them in a saucepan with a little water. The preparation is perfect to make each ice cream special.

In salad

When looking for ideal fruits to enrich salads, you always aim for apples, oranges and, now that the season allows, strawberries. But the medlars are also perfect in this role, especially if the preparation to add them to is based on vegetables and fresh cheeses such as primosale.