Trying to eat in a healthy fashion, I try to eat fruit, especially when I am away living in hotels, where the food available is often rich and too much.

I came across this fruit called Medlar in English or Musmula in Turkish.

                                                         the Medlar or Musmula fruit

It is also called the fork and spoon fruit. If one of the stones or seed is split into two parts, an image or imprint of a fork and spoon can be seen in the interior of the stone.

                                                         the Fork and Spoon fruit


The Medlar or Musmula is native to the Eastern part of Turkey, and eastern Mediterranean, West Iran and the Caucasus.

The Medlar, Musmula tree, grows to between 3 and 6 meters high, with the leaves are long and pointed and having heavy foliage which turns a beautiful reddish-brown in autumn. In May it is said to be a mass of white flowers. 

The fruit is like a crab apple and is greenish-yellow when unripe, but cannot be eaten until it has softened, and this is achieved by frost or when it is overripe or begins to decay. This process is known as bletted.

the bletted fruit is served in a small quarter, and is really soft, even the outer skin.

                                                         Medlar served