Flowering quince

I noticed that some of the ornamental bushes at my condo association had small, yellow, apple-like fruit on them. I've identified the bushes as flowering quince. The fruits are very hard but aromatic. Apparently they are edible but very tough and astringent. Has anyone tried cooking with these?

-Paul W.

Our intrusive, but thorough, friend Google shows only that they are like the full-size fruit: too hard and bitter to just consume, but full of flavor and pectin when cooked. Hence, make jam or paste.

Having verified that the fruit isn't poisonous, I took a bite out of one of them this afternoon. They have a slightly apple-like nuance, but they are tough, very sour, and astringent. But very aromatic.

-Paul W.

I got some quince from a friend last year, I made membrillo and quince jelly. The membrillo was nice with manchego.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/m ... nce_paste/

The quince jelly is a wonderful glaze for pork.

I once accidentally made membrillo. I was making a fancy apple pie - so very fancy that half the fruit was to be quince instead of apple. I peeled and halved three quinces and boiled them in Sauternes until they went all pink. The fruit went into the pie and the Sauternes solidified all by itself as it cooled....

On occasion I have made quince paste, to serve with h cheese and they take a long time to cook, particularly if you’re after that beautiful deep red colour, but worth the effort. Use a pressure cooker or a slow oven when doing other things.