[Sca-cooks] Quince question - bletting!

[Terry Decker]

Lovely recipes.

Yup, quinces and medlars are both bletted.  So are presimmons, chequers, 
service tree fruit and mountain ash fruit.  The process reduces the 
astringency of the fruit by reducing acids and tannins and increasing 
sugars.

Having looked a little further into this. there are modern varietals of 
quince that are less astringent and can be eaten without bletting.  What one 
purchases at the market are likely from these modern varieties.

Bear


I've heard of bletting medlars, but not quinces. Have i missed that?

I buy quinces from the local market, The Berkeley Bowl. They were not 
bletted. The quinces look fabulous this year.

As for quinces, there's a German recipe from the ca. 1350 Buch von Guter 
Spiese for chicken and quinces i cooked for a feast that would be nice for a 
family.

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Urtatim (that's oor-tah-TEEM)