Mispel (Hundsärsch)
The popular name dog's ass for the fruit of the medlar is quite easy to understand when you see it.
The medlar belongs to the rose family and came to us in Saarland through the Romans, where it first grew in monastery gardens and eventually went wild.
It looks like a mixture of apple and quince, but is somewhat smaller. The taste of the medlar is pleasantly sweet and sour, the flesh juicy. Rich in vitamins and fibre, it is not only delicious but also healthy.
The hard fruits are only really edible after frost, which postpones harvesting until late autumn. Then they are cooked into tasty jelly and refined into liqueur or fruit brandy - for example by the noble fruit distillery Johann Monter. In modern cuisine, they are increasingly used in chutneys, desserts and savoury dishes.