Loquat

About Loquat

The loquat is also called may apple, Japanese medlar and Japanese plum. This slightly pear-shaped fruit resembles an apricot in size and color. The juicy, crisp flesh is pale yellow and has a delicate, sweetly tart cherry-like flavor. It surrounds 1 to 3 rather large seeds.Loquats bruise easily so they're not good travelers. . Loquats can be eaten as a snack, added to salads or used in chicken or duck dishes.
The Loquat tree is common to many countries: Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, not to mention China and Japan. In Italy, it is known as nespola giapponese. In France, it is known as bibassier. In German, it is called wollmispel, in Spanish, nispero and ameixa amarelle in Portugese.

The Loquat was first discovered in the West by a botanist named Kaempfer in the year 1690. A man named Thunberg discovered it in Japan in 1712. It was planted in Paris in 1784 and in England in 1787. It spread from there all over the world.

Loquat trees originate in the southeastern part of China and perhaps southern Japan, although some believe it was brought to Japan long ago by Chinese travelers. Legend has it that it has been grown in Japan for one thousand years.