This is a preview of the content in our French Food Decoder app. Get the app to:
  • Read offline
  • Remove ads
  • Access all content
  • Use the in-app Map to find sites, and add custom locations (your hotel...)
  • Build a list of your own favourites
  • Search the contents with full-text search functionality
  • ... and more!
iOS App Store Google Play

nèfle

medlar

Medlar (Mespilus germanica) fruit, Barrmill Park, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Mespilus germanica L. Nèfles (medlars) were more popular in ancient times and in medieval France than they are now. Nicknamed cul de chien (dog’s ass) in Lorraine, or mêle elsewhere, the medlar ripens in winter but even then the fruit is very hard and poisonous and must be kept on straw for 15 days to ferment (blettissiment) .

The raw taste is a bit like apple, but most people who harvest them use them in jams or ratafia.

Not to be confused with (nèfle du Japon).

Fruit and nuts

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by Rosser1954