Pronunciations
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/blɛt/
Pronunciation notes
- UK
- US
Verb
To undergo or cause to undergo bletting, a fermentation process in certain fruit beyond ripening.
- Examples
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More examples (3)
c. 1835, B. Maund, The Botanic Garden, Or, Magazine of Flowering Plants, Volume 6, Simpkin & Marshall, page 115, Bletting is in particular a special alteration; it appears that the more austere a fruit is before this is brought on, the more it is capable of bletting regularly.
You can also hasten the bletting process by giving firm medlars a night in the freezer. I usually pick some medlars early to blet a little indoors, as this is perfect for making jelly, whereas fully soft fruit is ideal for any other use.
For example, you wouldn't be happy if you bit into a medlar. They need to be bletted (left to go over-ripe) before you can eat them but, once bletted, medlars taste sweet – a little bit like dates.[…]To be frank, bletting is a more polite word for "rotting".
Noun
A soft spot on fruit caused by bletting.