Quinces belong the family Rosaceae which also includes many other fruit-bearing plants such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, cherries and many others. The quince originated in and is still mainly grown in parts of western Asia and eastern Europe but of course, they can be grown elsewhere. The first record of them being in England was in 1275. Quinces are most often harvested later in the year, as the plant needs a temperature below 7 degrees Celsius for a period to flower properly, usually somewhere between October and December.
Well, time to try this thing. So I look up how to eat this thing, just in case. It looks like an apple on the outside but maybe it's like a pomegranate inside, who knows? Nope, pretty much an apple inside, but all I read on every site I look at is about how to make the quince taste okay enough to eat. Good start. Every single site suggests cooking it and adding sugar at a ratio of 8:1 water:sugar if simmering. Apparently it's really bitter and really tart and eating it raw is going to be an unpleasant experience. Good thing I bought two. I cut both up into slices, put one in a bowl, and the other in a pot with some sugar and water and simmer it for about 20 minutes. Take a bite of the raw one, (making sure my girlfriend is involved because I'm just that nice of a guy) tastes a little tart, a little bit sweet... mostly just tastes like soft Styrofoam. Not a whole lot of flavour to it. I wouldn't say it's unpalatable, there just isn't really any reason I would ever say to myself "I'm really craving a quince." So time to try the cooked slices. Thanks to the sugar in the water, it's a lot more sweet, shocking. Still a little tart, still not really noticing any bitterness. The texture is similar to an apple but with a little grittiness like some pears have. Despite the 20 minutes of simmering, still pretty firm. It kind of tastes a little like a Granny Smith apple overall.
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If I were to cook this fruit, which I did, I would definitely be adding sugar. Supposedly they are very high in pectin, so I might use it to make a jam, which I did find a recipe for at http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jam
From this experience I've learned that I don't really think quinces are all that great. It's a fruit that must be cooked to have any flavour or desirable texture, and once cooked, tastes very similar to an apple, although maybe that was just the way I cooked it. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy quinces again but also would be open to trying it done a different way if the opportunity arose.
From this experience I've learned that I don't really think quinces are all that great. It's a fruit that must be cooked to have any flavour or desirable texture, and once cooked, tastes very similar to an apple, although maybe that was just the way I cooked it. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy quinces again but also would be open to trying it done a different way if the opportunity arose.
Citation:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/quince
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jam/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaceae
Photos taken by me.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/quince
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jam/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaceae
Photos taken by me.