Loquat

Nèfle du Japon

What it is

The tree is Chinese, not Japanese: it reached the royal garden in Paris from Guangdong in 1784 and Kew three years later, collecting misleading names along the way. It shares nothing but the French word nèfle with the true medlar, which is edible only bletted in November — the loquat is eaten ripe off the branch in May.

In the kitchen

Peel it or not as you like, but always take out the two or three big brown seeds and the papery membrane around them, which is bitter. It has no shelf life: bruises show the day after picking, so choose fruit whose skin is still matte and eat them the same day.

Goes with

Almond Vanilla Honey Lemon Cream Apricot Rosemary Duck

In season alongside

Apricot Blood orange Cantaloupe melon Gariguette strawberry Mara des Bois strawberry Lychee

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