Medlar Medley

Medlar awaiting bletting.
An otherwise disappointing fruit.

A hard tart fruit of Medieval propagation
Sat listlessly awaiting fermentation.

    "You must," sang the wise Bette Midler,
    "Show patience for the bletting medlar!"

"Sorbic acid is its only taste salvation!"








The medlar was actually propagated since Roman times, but Medieval and medlar make a better limerick. Currently several small and not hopeful fruits are sitting on the tree. I asked my teacher yesterday about it and he said that they need to be bletted. I said "what?" a couple of times until I heard right. Apparently the fruits need to ferment beyond ripeness in order to be edible.
When mentioning to classmate Scott, he came up with the "Bette Midler"/"Blet Midlar" rhyme which was too good to pass up.

More on the medlar

• medlar wiki
• bletting wiki