At the beginning of December, we found fruit on a tree on our walk. It occurred to me that I saw fruit like that in a wild food guidebook the day before. So we collected some, hoping they were edible.
帰ってきて調べると、メドラー（西洋カリン）というものでした（日本のカリンとは似ても似つかぬ実。大きいローズヒップみたい）。中世まではポピュラーな果物だったようですが、今ではあまり知られていないようです。半分腐っているくらいになってようやく食べられるようになります。これはイギリスの寒冷な気候のせいらしく、地中海地方などでは木からもいでそのまま食べられるそう。そして、中世には「犬のお尻」と呼ばれたとか。た、たしかに見た目・・・。その名前じゃ人気がなくなるのも分る気がします。They were medlars. (Their Japanese name is western karin but is quite unlike Japanese karin. It's rather like a big rosehip.) Medlars had been popular fruit until the mediaeval period but are now not well-known. They should be kept until they are half-rotten, then finally they become edible. That seems to be because of the cold weather in the UK as the young fruit can be eaten straight off the tree in Mediterranean regions. In the Middle age, it used to be called 'dog's bottom.' I can recognise why from its appearance. Obviously the name didn't help stop the decline in its popularity.
メドラーとオレンジのクランブルを作ってみました。種をよけて、食べられる部分をほじくるのに相当時間がかかりました。これが衰退の一番の原因かも。でも味はよかったです。あんことやわらかい干しガキの中間ような感じ。また「犬のお尻」を発見したいものです。I made medlar and orange crumble. It took ages to scrape out the edible part from the small fruit and separate it from the pips. This probably would have been the biggest drawback for medlar eating. However, it was delicious, tasting like something between a sweet bean paste and a soft dried persimmon to me. I would like to round up 'dog's bottoms' again.
