Monstrueuse De Evreinoff is a French medlar cultivar with an outsized reputation to match its outsized fruit. Developed near Montauban by M. Evreinoff, this variety produces unusually large medlars reaching 3 inches across, with yellow-brown skin blushed in pinkish-brown. Hardy from zones 5 to 9 and reaching about 10 feet at maturity, it grows as a deciduous tree that blooms in autumn (October and November) before bearing its remarkable harvest. What makes this cultivar special is not just its size but its flavor: French connoisseurs have long praised its well-balanced sweetness with syrupy notes and a bright acidity that delights the palate.
Full Sun
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5-9
120in H x ?in W
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High
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The fruit is genuinely enormous for a medlar, reaching 3 inches and displaying an unusual warm yellow-brown coloring with pinkish-brown flesh inside. A French medlar specialist once described the taste as pleasant and well-balanced between sweet and almost syrupy, with the edge of acidity that delights connoisseurs. Though little known in the U.S., this cultivar represents centuries of European medlar cultivation, offering a rare chance to grow a French heirloom in your own garden.
Medlars are typically eaten after bletting, a natural softening process that occurs when fruit is exposed to frost or stored in cool conditions. The flesh becomes custard-like and develops a complex, slightly spiced flavor that appears in traditional European preserves, jellies, and pastes. Some gardeners enjoy eating the bletted fruit fresh from the hand, while others prefer processing it into medlar cheese or jelly, preparations that have been part of European kitchens for centuries.
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Harvest medlar fruit in late autumn (October or November) after the first frost, or gather the fruit and allow it to blet indoors in a cool location. The fruit is ready to eat when it softens significantly and the skin yields to gentle pressure. Look for the yellow-brown coloring to deepen slightly and become almost translucent at the base. The bletted flesh should have a custard-like consistency and caramel-like aroma.
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“Monstrueuse De Evreinoff emerged from France in the 19th century, developed by M. Evreinoff near Montauban in the southwest. The cultivar's name reflects its distinguishing trait: Evreinoff's Huge, referring directly to the exceptional size of its fruit. Medlars themselves are ancient in European cultivation, grown for thousands of years throughout the continent for their distinctive autumn-ripening fruit. This particular variety represents the refinement of medlar selection in France, where collectors and growers spent generations perfecting the species for flavor, size, and hardiness.”