And both have come to be known as the “chocolate persimmon,” not because they taste like chocolate, but when bletted, their flesh turns brown. When the flesh is brown, they are at their peak ...

In actual fact, ‘rotten’ should be read as very ripe or ‘bletted’ as those in the know say. When cooked and sweetened, the medlar turns a lovely russet red; I would describe the flavour as like spiced ...

When they are first picked, the inner flesh is rock hard and acerbic to the taste. To make them edible, they must be bletted, a term coined by John Lindley in his Introduction to the Natural System of ...

The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times, is usually available in winter and eaten when bletted. It may be eaten raw and in a range of cooked dishes. When the ...

when the skins have softened and ‘bletted’ (become a touch rotten). They’re as mouth-puckeringly sour when raw as you could imagine — inedibly so. Freeze them overnight, then put into a sterilised jar ...

Essentially the fruit starts to rot, replacing acids and tannins with sugar, only then making the fruit edible. Once bletted, medlar fruit smell like ripe apples with a deep honey sweetness, the ...

Once bletted, medlar fruit smell like ripe apples with a deep honey sweetness, the texture is like a grainy apple sauce and tastes somewhere between overripe dates, custard and caramel.