What does a loquat taste like? A question as difficult to answer as ‘What does a pomegranate, an orange, a mandarin, or a lemon taste like? All fruits found in abundance in May 2023 on the Amalfi coast where several of the photos shown were taken. The loquat’s yellow skin suggests an apricot, its taste distantly similar but with a tinge of sharpness. Its genes suggest a convergence with the apple and the peach. When ripe, its yellow pulp is juicier than an apricot, and its skin has the toughness of a supermarket Granny Smith apple. Cultivars with white flesh are said to be tastier. The fruit ranges from round to oblong, a shape that reminded the ancient Chinese of their musical instrument, the lute-like pipa (or peipa), and so they named the fruit after it. However, it is best known as the loquat, its Cantonese name.
The loquat is of Chinese origin, but it is a resilient and adaptable plant that has made itself at home in many parts of the world including the Amalfi coast, Mauritius and yes, even London although there, it is reluctant to flower and fruit, much preferring the warmth of its sunny native lands and the Mediterranean. The Cantonese claim the fruit as theirs first, but the most prized loquats are the Putian loquat from Fujian Province and the Suzhou loquat from Jiangsu Province in China. As a true adaptable migrant, the peipa, took on new names in new countries – nespolo on the Amalfi coast, lukaat in the Indian subcontinent, biwa in Japan, bibasse in Mauritius, nêspera in Portuguese-speaking lands, and nispero in Spain, the main mass-producer of the fruit in Europe.
The evergreen loquat tree is highly ornamental with huge leaves (see photo of one growing in my garden in Nottingham), clusters of white fragrant flowers and yellow fruits (sadly not in Nottingham). The large seeds are reminiscent of the lychee seeds.
Loquat’s most well-known medicinal use is as a cough medicine (leaf extracts) and among the Chinese, both at home and in the diaspora, Pei Pa Lo (Loquat elixir) and Pei Pa Kao (Loquat linctus) are as popular as Benylin linctus, Robitussin elixir, Covonia, Clarix (in France) and Makatussin (Germany). As a child, I liked the taste of Pei Pa Lo that my mother treated me with when she could no longer stand my coughs. It worked but so would, no doubt, watchful waiting, that good doctors know so well.
The loquat leaf is also said to act as an anti-diarrhoeal and as an anti-depressant while the fruit is said to be sedative and anti-nauseant. The flower is claimed to be expectorant. However, as with many herbal remedies, the claims are based largely on hearsay. The pipa is a beautiful plant. As a safe remedy for self-resolving maladies, who will deny its place in the garden where everything heals so much better with the sound of the music, lute or other. Cicero was right in saying, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need” and health can take care of itself.
As with much of the plant world, beauty is celebrated by poets and artists across cultures as shown in the paintings. Heigh-Ho Pei Pa Lo, how sweet is the elixir of life, they said.
Photo credits: ALWP CEBP photos except for the paintings which are from the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Archive.org, and Wikipedia Commons
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