Island.

A favourite snack for youngsters, the yellow plum-like fruit make excellent jam, chutney, pies and liqueur.

Since loquat season is coming to an end, here are a few recipes to help you savour the last remnants of this delicious fruit.

*** DEEP-DISH LOQUAT PIE The filling for this pie is pure loquat, cooked only in its own juice with no water added and no flour used for thickening. Admittedly it does take time to wash, seed, and cut up such a quantity of loquats in preparation for cooking but the result is well worth the effort.

12 cups prepared loquats 11 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon allspice Pastry for 9 inch double crust pie MAKE pastry ahead of time and place bottom crust in pie pan in freezer until ready to use.

Put prepared loquats in a large cooking pot with a few seeds for flavour. Add sugar, salt and spices but no water. Bring to boil uncovered, then boil gently for about 40 minutes until juice has evaporated. (Watch closely and stir frequently after half an hour). When thickened remove from heat, add one tablespoon butter. Cool. Remove seeds.

Spoon filling into cold pie crust, put on top crust as usual. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake on bottom shelf of 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees, raise pie to middle shelf, continue baking about another 20 minutes until pastry is done.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from What's Cooking in Bermuda.

*** LOQUAT MOUSSE 1 packet lemon jelly 2 pints loquat juice COOK loquats until tender. When cool stone and skin. Put into a liquidizer.

Measure juice to make 2 pints. Chill until set.

*** LOQUAT CHUTNEY 6 pounds loquats (skinned and seeded) 21 pounds white sugar 1 pound seedless raisins 2 tins chunk pineapple 1 cup cider vinegar 11 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon Onion salt - celery salt 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 bottles red cherries 2 bottles green cherries 2 bottles chill sauce Tabasco MIX all together and cook 2 1 hours. Bring to a quick boil and turn down low and cook slowly. Put in chili sauce about 10 minutes before chutney is ready.

*** PICKLED WHOLE LOQUATS Use the largest loquats available, remove only stem and flower ends, leaving seeds and skin on loquats. Put whole clove in both ends of each loquat and place in large glass bottle until full, leaving about 1 inch at top. Pack fairly tight.

Bring to boil: 3 cups white vinegar 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt Pour over loquats and seal.

Recipes from St. John's Guild Pot Pourri.

*** BERMUDA LOQUAT LIQUEUR 1 gallon glass jar with plastic screw top Fresh picked ripe loquats Castor sugar Pure ethyl alcohol.

TOP and tail the loquats but do not remove the seeds. Place them in the glass jar loosely to the 1 mark. Cover with the castor sugar to the 2 mark. Fill to one inch from the top of the jar with ethyl alcohol. Turn and shake daily until the sugar has dissolved and thereafter once a week. Leave for a total of six months. Remove the fruit and let the liqueur settle before syphoning off into decanters.

N.B. Use only pure Ethyl Alcohol in this recipe. It can be purchased at most liquor shops and drug stores. Use of any other alcohol is dangerous.

If pure ethyl alcohol is not available, then overproof vodka can be substituted.

Recipe from Bermuda's Favourite Drinks.

*** DEEP DISH LOQUAT PIE 12 cups prepared loquats (washed seeded and cut) 11 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon allspice 1 tablespoon butter PUT prepared loquats in large pot, add a few seeds for flavour. Add sugar, salt spices (but not water), bring to boil, uncovered. Boil gently for 40 minutes until juice has evaporated. When thickened remove from heat and add butter. Cool then remove seeds.

Prepare pastry for a 9 inch pie (double crust). Make pastry ahead of time and place bottom crust in freezer until ready to use. Spoon prepared filling into cold pie crust, cover with top crust, sprinkle with sugar. Bake on bottom shelf of oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees, raise pie to middle shelf and bake for 20 minutes until pastry is brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.