21/08/2026
Forgotten Fruits of the Uk .
Medlar (Mespilus germanica): An ancient autumn fruit with a rustic, historical shape. It is rock-hard and intensely astringent when picked, requiring a rotting process called "bletting" after the first frost until the flesh turns soft and brown with a spiced, date-like flavor.Bullace (Prunus domestica insititia): A small, wild or semi-wild ancient plum native to Britain. It produces tart, round stone fruits traditionally gathered in autumn for jams and tarts before modern commercial plums took over.Service Tree Berry (Sorbus domestica): The rare fruit of the Wild Service Tree, producing small pear- or apple-shaped berries. They were historically eaten only after they became soft and bletted, tasting sweet and cider-like.Barberry (Berberis vulgaris): Clusters of bright red, elongated berries packed with sharp acid. Once used heavily in old British cooking as a local substitute for lemons, they were largely eradicated in the 19th century due to being a host for agricultural wheat rust.Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas): A bright red stone fruit cultivated for thousands of years. It yields small, tart cherry-like drupes that become palatable and sweet-sharp only when fully tree-ripened and dropping to the ground.Myrobalan Plum (Prunus cerasifera): Also known as the cherry plum, this early-fruiting small tree yields yellow or red globular fruits that fade into total local obscurity outside of specialist heritage foraging.
Or if you are like us and have these growing in your hedges ,
Some times while tending the bee hives we get to find old orchards with long forgotten varieties of apples , pears cherries and what were old family favourites,
We both were lucky to have parents that taught us how to find rare and wonderous bounty ,
And today a very old green gage tree .
Smiles and laughter as we stood and munched .
