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["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

The traditional method in Elizabethan times was to bury medlars in a bowl of fruitwood sawdust.   This argues that they need dark, reasonably humid conditions to blet.  I've found that when they blet in a group they do better than single fruits, which tend to dry up rather than blet.  So humidity must be important.  Probably bletting in leaves would do the same thing.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
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On Oct 6, 2007, at 8:02 AM, rob hamilton wrote:
On a related topic...
I would like to here some different methods of bletting from people. I know a number of my Medlars sour or even moldy before finishing. I can imaging fleshy fruits like the Quinces would have and even worse problem. Does anyone prep the fruits first?  ...a 3% bleach or distilled vinegar wash? Do they do better on sunlight or in dark?