Medlar jelly is one of those rare delights that stops you in your tracks. With its clear amber-pink glow and deep, toffee-apple flavour, it feels both familiar and entirely unexpected — a preserve that rewards curiosity. Visitors to our garden — especially chefs, producers, and food writers — always pause when they discover the medlar tree.
Our Nottingham medlar tree is a recent addition to the Fat Tomato garden, planted in 2020 and now beginning to bear fruit. Medlars are harvested late in the year, after the first frosts, when they soften through a process known as bletting — a natural ripening that transforms the fruit from hard and tannic into something soft, aromatic, and richly flavoured.
We make this jelly using fruit picked at different stages of ripeness — some gathered earlier to retain natural pectin, others later for their caramel depth. They are gently simmered with Bramley and crab apples from the garden, along with organic Verna lemons sourced through the CrowdFarming platform, connecting us with small-scale Mediterranean growers.
The process unfolds slowly over two days, allowing the fruit to drip naturally through muslin overnight to preserve its clarity and perfume. The result is a luminous, delicately set jelly — sweet, softly spiced, and quietly nostalgic in the best way.
Serve on toast, alongside farmhouse cheeses, or with roast meats. It also melts beautifully into sauces, adding depth and a subtle sweetness.
Presented in a 165g glass WECK jar as a Gift Box Edition, wrapped in our illustrated paper — inspired by the Wexford and Irish food story — and finished in our signature black box.
Medlar jelly is one of those rare delights that stops you in your tracks. With its clear amber-pink glow and deep, toffee-apple flavour, it feels both familiar and entirely unexpected — a preserve that rewards curiosity. Visitors to our garden — especially chefs, producers, and food writers — always pause when they discover the medlar tree.
Our Nottingham medlar tree is a recent addition to the Fat Tomato garden, planted in 2020 and now beginning to bear fruit. Medlars are harvested late in the year, after the first frosts, when they soften through a process known as bletting — a natural ripening that transforms the fruit from hard and tannic into something soft, aromatic, and richly flavoured.
We make this jelly using fruit picked at different stages of ripeness — some gathered earlier to retain natural pectin, others later for their caramel depth. They are gently simmered with Bramley and crab apples from the garden, along with organic Verna lemons sourced through the CrowdFarming platform, connecting us with small-scale Mediterranean growers.
The process unfolds slowly over two days, allowing the fruit to drip naturally through muslin overnight to preserve its clarity and perfume. The result is a luminous, delicately set jelly — sweet, softly spiced, and quietly nostalgic in the best way.
Serve on toast, alongside farmhouse cheeses, or with roast meats. It also melts beautifully into sauces, adding depth and a subtle sweetness.
Presented in a 165g glass WECK jar as a Gift Box Edition, wrapped in our illustrated paper — inspired by the Wexford and Irish food story — and finished in our signature black box.
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