The Dude Imbibes

Loquats

Posted on 19 May 2009

Loquats aren’t the most widely known fruit.  In fact, most people, if asked, wouldn’t even be able to recognize them.  Since I lucked out and happen to have a ginormous loquat tree in my backyard, I figured it was on my shoulders to help spread the word.  A loquat is a small yellow/orange fruit that grows in clusters on trees.  Each fruit is about 5cm long and are generally oval in shape.  Supposedly they are a distant relative to the apple, but they taste like a combination apricot/peach/plum.

Loquats are native to China, although it has been grown in Japan for over a thousand years (a common loquat nickname is the “japanese plum”).  It has been grown for over a century here in America, although mostly in sunny and warm climates such as California and Texas.  Loquats are high in pectin and acid content and fairly high in sugar content.  This makes them well suited for jellies and jams, but also lends to mixing well in cocktails (as I have found out).

My dog, Emma, loves them and if I can’t find her in the house during spring or summer, she is usually out back happily eating whatever ripened fruit has fallen to the ground.  My dog aside, each fruit contains about  4-5 stones (seeds) inside that must be discarded as they contain a small amount of cyanide and should not be eaten…unless you feel lucky.  Truth be told, they are a lot of work for such little fruit…but damn if they aren’t tasty.

While loquats may be hard to find in farmer’s markets or supermarkets you can try to find them in (if you have one) Chinatown or Chinese groceries where they show themselves often.  Since I have about a gazillion loquats on my tree right now, I figured I’d post a few things to get rid of do with them.

First, I wanted to jump to dessert, because why not.  These things are just crying out for a cobbler and that’s what I did.  First thing you need to do is get 2lbs of loquats (yeah, I measured it on a bathroom scale…so what?).  The hard part is that you have to cut off both ends, remove the seeds/stones and surrounding membrane.  **warning–this takes waaayyyyyy longer than you think (2 f’ing pounds worth).  Quarter the loquats and toss with the rest of the filling in a 9×9 inch glass pan.  Let all that set for about 30 minutes while you whip together the topping.  Go ahead and preheat the oven to a toasty 400 degrees.

Combine all the topping ingredients except for butter and buttermilk.  Add butter and mix (I did it with my hands) until it is somewhat smooth.  Stir in the buttermilk until combined…but don’t over mix to a point of smoothness.  Use a large spoon to drop spoonfuls of dough over the filling, leaving some space between drops to allow dough to expand  when baking.  I sprinkled a couple teaspoons of sugar on top just before putting it in the oven.

Voila!  This desert tastes amazing…especially topped with vanilla ice cream.  I didn’t have time to get a pic of it on a plate as it was devoured by a pack of wolves before I had the chance, but take my word for it.  Make this if you can.  Here are the details.

Loquat Cobbler

Filling:

2 lbs loquats, seeded and quartered
7 TBS Sugar
1 TB All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1/4 teaspoon Orgeat Syrup
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour

3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons sugar (reserved)
4 TBS unsalted butter cut into bits
1/2 cup Buttermilk well shaken

Toss all filling ingredients together in a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate and let stand until juicy, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture is roughly smooth. Stir in buttermilk with a fork just until combined.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough over filling, leaving spaces in between to allow topping to expand.

Sprinkle topping with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake cobbler in middle of oven until the topping is golden brown and hopefully the fruit is tender, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly, about 15 minutes, and serve warm.  Best with ice cream.