Service Tree (Sorbus domestica) seeds

Service trees have been cultivated for hundreds of years on account of the aromatic fruits they bear although the number of fruit-bearing trees strongly decreases due to default of meadow orchards. The fruits taste best when they are allowed to ripen on the tree or when they are stored in the basement for a while. Before, they shouldn't be eaten raw but better be processed into jam or jelly. The recipe for the original Frankfurt cider contains a small amount of service tree as the high percentage of tanning agents in the fruits give the cider a more beautiful colour, a stronger taste, and a longer keepability. It's also the tannins that reason the fruit's reputation as an old home remedy against diarrhea.

The so-called sherbet is a spirit made from ripe fruits that is distilled in Switzerland, France, and Luxembourg. Due to the decreasing number of fully grown trees and the rather elaborate production - the harvest of the numerous small fruits is very labour-intensive - the fruit brand is also getting rarer and rarer.

Its wood belongs to the most durable woods in Europe and was used for mechanical uses like cogwheels, gun stocks, or cable controls and woodscrews as it's heavy and loses nearly nothing of its volume when it seasons.