nefle jam

Thirty years ago I had an Italian lady help me in house and garden. One day she brought me a little pot with a little plant in it. "This is going to be big tree, a nefle tree," she said. It had very shiny dark leaves.
Today it stands about 12 meters high and produces nefles (medlar in English). They taste so-so, but being orange colored, like apricots, I figure they are full of anti-oxidants.
The other day my neighbor asked if I ever made jam with them. Well, I hadn't, but upon his recommendation I did and it is just delicious, much better than the raw fruit would suggest.
It has got to be the most labor-intensive and most exclusive jam ever. First you have to peel the fruit, then chop up the flesh carefully so as not to cut into the big seeds which are bitter. I put 275g of sugar into 500g of nefles, added a teaspoon of lemon juice and a couple of gratings of lemon zeste.Boil until it sets and pour into sterilized jars. The few jars that I have are going to make a very special Christmas present.