Medlar. A medlar is a fruit about the size of a small apple which is harvested when it is soft, squashy and brown - almost rotten, said to have originated in Persia. It is most often used in making a dark red jelly-like spiced condiment. We picked these apparently rotting fruit from the ground under a tree one August near Sarlat in France. It took some courage to squirt the ripened pulp out through the skin, but such a surprise to taste the sweet, custardy flesh. Alys Fowler describes the flavour as “sweet like a date, a hint of lemon and a little apricot.”
Wels or sheat-fish. A large catfish from central and northern Europe, the largest river fish in Europe after the sturgeon. They are inactive during the day, feeding during the night mainly on mussels and crayfish, though they will feed on live fish if they are injured. Not indigenous to Britain but may be found from time to time in rivers as some have been introduced in an effort to broaded the range of sporting fish for anglers.
