Zootjs,

I know nothing about quince. Your post has peaked my interest.

Looking back at old threads. This one may give you some answers. I prefer eating fresh fruit instead of cooking with it. So, quince is not my kind of trees to grow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quince

Hi Mamuang,

Thanks, that's helpful.

Some quinces can be eaten fresh:

http://www.raintreenursery.com/Aromatnaya_Russian_Quince_Quince.html

This year, there seems to be a trend in restaurants of baking with quince, and I've had some really delicious desserts that have me thinking about adding one to my backyard orchard.

--Jonathan

I also looked up Gardenweb, cooking forum, there were quite a few people talkilng about cooking with quince.

Our area is rather humid and inviting for fungal diseases for fruit trees. You may need to spray. I wish you good luck.

Some quince varieties are more chewable than others, but in most cases fresh quince is made palatable by merely slicing it very thinly. Keep in mind that most quince recipes do not use much fruit and it may be better to purchase instead of grow.

Mass quantities can be used when making sauce or juice; in those cases just handle the quince like you would apples.

I am absolutely in love with quince. It is one of the most fragrant fruit in the world period. It makes very pleasantly fragrant preserves few fruit can even think to compete with. It also makes some really killer cold traditional Persian drinks with fresh lime. Also awesome in some hot Korean teas. I was pretty tempted to trial growing it but for now decided to hold off. Reason was since we usually process it (cook it) before we eat it--I thought maybe store bought vs own grown may not make a monumental difference in quality like say a store bought peach vs tree ripened peach does. I could be very wrong though as some store bought is seemingly more ripe (while still firm) and fragrant than others. Also store bought quince can get pretty pricey but my home's use is not overwhelming.

Now if I had more space, wasn't in a humid region, or was OK with spraying with whatever it took-- any of those alone would probably very seriously tempt me to test out a few varieties. I don't mind chewing some raw quince for fun sometimes, but it is in processing it that it becomes a fruit like none other for me.

Quince is definitely a processing fruit, even the "fresh eating" varieties. From what I understand, they're more palatable in very hot, dry summer areas. But. I LOVE Quince! Jelly, Membrillo (a sweetened paste eaten with sharp cheeses), you name it. It's amazing, it tastes how the best roses smell.

Aromatnaya Russian Quince (Jungs, Raintree) is somewhat more fireblight resistant, but you'll still need to watch it and prune away disease.

The author of the Simply Quince book claims she can't tell the difference between cooked varieties of quince, so I'm planning on planting the Aromatnaya this spring. (Southern WI, zone 5a) A friend in town has had it growing for ~4 years now, and got 20 lbs of fruit this year.

Thanks Fruitmaven! Was leaning towards Aromatnaya, just based on catalog descriptions, and it's nice to have confirmation. And I appreciate that book reference.

The flowering quinces are lovely, small, and completely disease-proof. Their fruit just isn't nearly as good! A friend in VA made flowering quince (Chaenomeles) jelly and then I mailed her some of my fruiting quince (Cydonia oblonga) membrillo and she said the flavor was far better in the fruiting quince. She will probably be getting an Aromatnaya tree as a housewarming gift when she moves in the spring.

I might also get a flowering quince, sometime. They are nice too. Just a different animal.