EXUBERANT SPRING FRUITS

 

Loquats (nísperos) on the tree.

Does the scent of strawberries excite you? Does the burst of color from a bin of cherries make your heart beat faster? How about the golden glow of a basket of loquats? What? You don’t know about loquats? These could be your new springtime love.

I took a bag of loquats to give away to the chicas in my aerobics group. The Brits had never tasted loquats!. The Spanish turned them down—they’ve already got more locally-grown loquats than they can eat. The Moroccan women grabbed them up with delight! 

 

Easy to peel.

Let me tell you more about loquats (Eriobotrya japonica, nísperos in Spanish). Native to China, they arrived in Spain, via Japan, in the 19th century. A semi-tropical tree, the loquat thrives in the provinces of Alicante, Murcia, Granada, and Málaga. The yellow fruit is the size and shape of a large egg. It has a smooth, tough skin that is easily peeled—just strip it off with your fingers.

Split in half, the loquat reveals one, two, or three dark, nearly black pits. The flesh is yellow-orange to pale yellow. Loquats ripen earlier than apricots and, like apricots, they have a very brief season. 

The loquat is tangy-sweet, as juicy as a ripe peach (although not fragrant like peach). It could substitute for peach, raw or baked in a pie. 

Once cut up, loquats will oxidize and darken. To prevent this, cover them with cold water. You can add salt (1 tablespoon for 4 cups water) or lemon juice (3 tablespoons for 4 cups water), but plain water works just as well. 

I’ve made loquat chutney, loquat mousse, and the best ever spring fruit salad. The birds can have the fruits that remain, hanging just out of my reach.

Ingredients for chutney with loquats.

Loquats are a good fruit to use in making spicy chutney. Use the recipe here, substituting cut-up loquats for the mangos.

Loquat mousse made with gelatin.

To make the mousse: Cook 3 cups cut-up loquats and ¼ cup water with 3 cardamom pods and a strip of orange peel for 10 minutes.  Soften 4 sheets of gelatin in cold water. Squeeze out the water and add the gelatin to the cooked fruit and stir to dissolve. Discard the orange peel and cardamom husks. Place the fruit in a blender with 1½ cups of canned coconut milk or evaporated milk. Sweeten to taste with sugar, honey, or non-caloric sweetener. Chill the mixture. When partially set, beat it to make it fluffy and ladle into 6 (1/2-cup) dessert cups. Chill. 

An exuberant fruit salad for springtime.

Springtime Fruit Salad 

Ensalada con Frutas de Primavera

Use any combination of in-season fruits—loquats, strawberries, apricots, cherries, melon, watermelon, raspberries, peaches, blueberries, grapes, figs. I combined strawberries and loquats with kiwi and orange. While kiwis and oranges are not actually in season, they are available year-round. Citrus complements loquats. Combine fruits in any proportion to make approximately 4 to 5 cups sliced fruit. Make a syrup using jam and sweet Sherry instead of sugar. 

Serves 4 to 6.  

¼ cup strawberry jam

¼ cup oloroso Sherry

¼ cup water

1 ½ cups sliced strawberries (about 8 ounces)

1-2 sliced kiwis

1 large orange, peel grated and sections removed

2 ½ cups sliced loquats 

1-2 tablespoons lemon, lime, or sour orange juice

Whipped cream or Greek yogurt (optional)

To make a light syrup, combine the jam, Sherry, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. If desired, strain the syrup and discard solids from the jam. Cool the syrup.

In a fruit bowl, combine the sliced strawberries, kiwis, and loquats. Grate the orange peel over the fruits, then peel the orange and separate the sections. Add them to the bowl. Squeeze the remaining membrane to extract all its juice. Add the juice with the lemon, lime, or sour orange juice. Gently combine the fruits. Either mix the syrup with the fruits or serve it separately for each person to add as desired. Serve with cream or yogurt, if desired.

Loquats stand in for mango in this chutney.

More recipes with loquats;

Loquat-Spinach Salad with Cheese.

Loquat Mousse (This version with egg.)

LOQUAT WHAT?

Loquat tree.

What’s that unusual fruit? Egg-shaped, the color of bright apricots, growing in clusters amongst floppy, dark-green leaves on a small tree in my neighbors’ garden. It’s a níspero, or loquat (Eriobotry japonica) (and not a medlar, as it is sometimes mistakenly called). Like apples and pears, the loquat is a member of the rose family. Loquats ripen in the spring, much earlier than apricots, but their season is brief. Now’s the time to enjoy them.

Originally from China, the loquat was long cultivated in Japan. Some sources say that the tree arrived in Europe as late as the 17th century, but according to others, it was first cultivated in Spain as early as the 12th century by the Arabs. The trees grow in subtropical climes along the south and east coastlines of Spain. Loquats grown in Alicante province have a protected quality denomination, Nísperos de Callosa d’en Sarrià.

Nisperos are loquats.

Loquats are easy to peel—just cut off the stem end and strip back the skin. In the center are dark, knobby seeds (from one to five, but averaging three). The fruit is tangy-sweet, sort of like a spicy pear in taste. The flesh is firm but juicy, not grainy, but not absolutely creamy. It oxidizes easily, so the pulp darkens from orange to dark pumpkin.

I like to eat loquats straight from the tree or diced into a fruit salad (with their seasonal contemporary strawberries). The puree makes a lovely mousse, enriched with cream and set with gelatin.

Loquats have cluster of seeds in center.

To prepare the loquats, peel them, cut in half and use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out the seeds. Puree in a blender with lemon juice. Two pounds of loquats (16 to 17 fruits) make about 2 cups of puree.

Loquat Mousse
Espuma de Nísperos

I like lemon-vanilla with the loquats, but lemon-cinnamon or lemon-ginger are good too. You can prepare a low-fat version of this dessert by using two percent milk in place of the cream and no-fat Greek yogurt.

What, no loquat? Use apricot or nectarine puree in this recipe.

Makes 6 (1/2-cup) servings.

½ cup milk
2 ½ teaspoons plain gelatin
1 ½  cups pureed loquats
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg, separated
½ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup light cream
grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups Greek-style yogurt

Place the milk in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Combine the loquat puree with lemon juice.

Beat the egg white until stiff. Beat in 2 tablespoons of sugar. Reserve the egg white. Place the yolk in a small bowl.

Put the puree in a pan with remaining sugar, cream and zest. Heat until it begins to simmer. Beat some of the hot cream into the yolk, then whisk it into the pan. Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly, until yolk thickens slightly. Whisk in the milk and gelatine until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Beat in the yogurt. Fold in the beaten egg white.

Pour the mixture into dessert cups. Chill until the mousse is set, at least 4 hours.

Loquat mousse.