Why Are Loquats Such A Big Secret?
Here’s some info on this delicious fruit
I have this tree on the side of my house. I had no idea what type of tree it was. I only knew two things. It bears fruit, and whatever fruit that is, both birds and people passing by my house like to eat them.
One day a friend, who happens to be an arborist, stops by. Walks up the driveway, stops, looks at my tree, picks one of the plump orange fruits, and takes a big bite.
With juice running down his chin, he happily pronounces, “Boy, aren’t you lucky. A healthy, fully loaded loquat tree.” I actually hadn’t even asked him to ID that tree for me. He was there for a whole different assignment. He picked another.
I had in fact, been wondering about the identity of that tree for years. Without hesitation, the only question that I could manage was a highly intellectual, “what?”. I think I caught him off guard.
In the ensuing information download that my knowledgeable friend immediately gave me, I picked up a couple of points. One, I was indeed lucky to have this delicious fruit tree on my property. Two, there are tons of other Florida homeowners who have the same luck as me. And three, those strangers who I had seen eating my mystery fruit had not wandered off into the bright Florida sunshine and died. Lucky for me.
Here are some photos for those of you who have also never seen a loquat.
Since that memorable day, my wife and I (and all house guests) have been trying to beat the birds and the poachers to our newly discovered food find. I’m happy to be in on the secret.
If you’re lucky enough to have a loquat tree or know someone that does, here’s a link to a few recipes.
I have been wondering if I had been dreaming about this loquat tree all my life. My grandparents had one of these trees in their yard in San Francisco and I loved the fruit but could never find the tree..So glad to find out it wasn’t a dream! Now to find one for myself to plant…
I have a very large loquat tree in a vacant lot bordering my property, for the past 11 years. I always knew that’s what it was and watched it produce all those little fruits every year but had never eaten any and didn’t know anything about them and wondered what they would be like.
I tried one once and they were sweet and tasty. I noticed that they are a small fruit with large pits tho and not much pulp on them. I guess I’ll be gathering them this year and enjoying them. P.S. -You have to pick them before they get any splits in them, tho-or they will be invaded by those little pissants. They just love them, too.
I grew up in California, this and many other trees grew in the back yard , this was one of my favorites, needless to say , I haven’t had one sense the 60 s but never forgot the taste