Quince (Chaenomeles japonica)

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?JRQMR 17 April 2012 Chaenomeles japonica (Quince)

This pretty flowered plant produces many large apple like fruit, which are extremely sour in late Fall. The fruit will be used for making pressure canned juice. From these two bushes about a bushel of fruit is produced.

[chickenchargrill]

I made quince jam last year. Only found one person who liked the stuff.

[wabbit955]

i make quince jelly
and coridal with mine
might even try wine with them this year
me and my boys love it

[oldjerry]

Although it's grown commonly in the UK(Chamoneles Jap.) as a flowering shrub,it will produce these small bitter quinces(which personally I wouldn't touch with a bargepole,but it wouldn't do if we were all the same).The Quince which is traditionally grown in the UK,and used for jam is a tree (Cydonia Oblonga),not bad added to your apple pie.

[wabbit955]

got one of them to and got my first fruits from it last year but used them in desserts
yummy

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I made quince jam last year. Only found one person who liked the stuff.

Vote here too for quince jelly. Even better is an apple & quince jelly (50/50) which has a wonderful flavour and a good jelly texture.

[darkbrowneggs]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?JRQMR 17 April 2012 Chaenomeles japonica (Quince)

This pretty flowered plant produces many large apple like fruit, which are extremely sour in late Fall. The fruit will be used for making pressure canned juice. From these two bushes about a bushel of fruit is produced.

When you say it is extremely sour do you have to add a lot of sugar or similar to make it palatable, or how do you use it? Is it particularly beneficial healthwise?

[Durgan]

I tried quince as a boiled fruit about two years ago and so much sugar was necessary that most of the fruit was not utilized. This year I am going to make pressure canned juice and mix with other juices in an attempt to utilize. Anything that sour has to have some nutrient value.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I tried quince as a boiled fruit about two years ago and so much sugar was necessary that most of the fruit was not utilized. This year I am going to make pressure canned juice and mix with other juices in an attempt to utilize. Anything that sour has to have some nutrient value.

I fear you may find the juice a disappointment, except, perhaps, diluted greatly with apple or pear.

Have you apples? A good alternative (well I think it's good ) is to stew the quince with about twice their weight of apples and sugar (yeah, yeah, I know, but they need it) and preserve the mixture for use in winter pies & crumbles. It has an incredible aroma.

Quince cheese is excellent too and a fine accompaniment to real cheese. Very easy to make - there's masses of recipes online.

Or you could preserve slices of quince in a light syrup. This goes well with some meats. Around here it is eaten most traditionally with duck, but I've also had it with slow-roast pork belly.

By the time you've done all that, plus a dozen pots of jelly, you'll have used up all the quince you could possible face!

[oldjerry]

Are you sure you'renot confusing 2 different quinces? The tree variety makes really good jelly,I found the Jap things completely inedible.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Are you sure you'renot confusing 2 different quinces? The tree variety makes really good jelly,I found the Jap things completely inedible.

Well, it's not impossible. Particularly since I just looked up the Latin for what I have up my garden and it's Cydonia oblonga, which I didn't know. Still, everything I said is very much the case for Cydonia oblonga

[Thomzo]

I've grown both, the Japonica variety is pretty but the tree version IMHO has far superior fruit, in this country anyway. Maybe the Japonica has better fruit in a warmer climate.

Zoe