The medlar has a fairly vile reputation, partly because of the suggestive way that it spreads open up at the bottom as ripens, and partly because it actually has to begin to rot before it is edible. You can either wait until the frost gets them, or simply set them aside for a while. When skin starts to get wrinkly and the inside is squishy, you can scoop out what is inside and eat it, if you have a mind to. We used to call them crab apples, till we were told different, but that, more or less, is what they are. The fruit are only an inch or two in diameter, so don't get much for your work, but, some people like them--