compounds, but in smaller quantities
(common Bartletts about a twenty-fifth,
Packhams a tenth to a half), and so usually get
pink at best.
Medlar Medlars are small fruits of an apple
relative (Mespilus germanica) native to
central Asia, now rare but once commonly
grown in Europe as a winter fruit. Like the
quince, the medlar remains hard and
astringent even when ripe, so it keeps well and
even improves if left on the tree through early
frosts. It was made into preserves, but more
often it was “bletted” (a 19th-century coinage
from the French blessé, “bruised”), or picked
from the tree and kept in a cool, dry place for
several weeks until the enzymes in its own
cells digest it from within, and its flesh turns
soft and brown. The astringency disappears,
the malic acid is used up, and the aroma
develops strong overtones of spice, baked
apples, wine, and gentle decay, what D. H.