Quince

I have two quince in my garden, one red and one white and I have noticed that each has a spray of flowers on them (lovely to see but surely not the time of the year).  Also I have always thrown the fruit (is this what they are called) away, is there anything that can be done with them other than throwing them away.  Must say it is nice to see the flowers as others are dying back.

Google 'membrillo' - it's what the sppanish do with quince. A lovely paste/jelly that they serve with cheese.

The Spanish use the big quinces which grow on trees for membrillo, not the small ornamental quinces more likely to be found in the garden.  The will not harm you, but the large quinces are much more suitable. They appear in the shops towards the end of the year.

The only differences between Chaenomeles and  Cydonia are very small Botanical hair splitting things. The fruits are exactly the same taste and texture. The only reason the Cydonia fruits are bigger is because they are from selected trees, in the same way as cultivated Raspberries are bigger than wild ones.

We have made Jelly from both and I defy anyone to distinguish between them.

Many thanks for all the replies and especially to Figrat for the recipes.  I will certainly try to make jam next year.  With the fruits being so hard I supposed they couldn't be used for anything (do they soften eventually?).  Will hope for plenty of flowers next year so that I can try out the receipes.  Again many thanks.

The fruit makes a wonderful Air freshener. Just bring one in and leave it on a window ledge and the fragrance will fill the air.

Did you see Monty's recommendations on Friday night? Glad I don't have to pick mine the way he does!!

Have just got round to watching Gardeners World on iplayer and Monty saying how Quince is the nicest fruit and can be added to stewed apple, but what I don't know is the fruits are so hard, you cann't chop them so do you stew them first?  Loved watching Carol and the clematis.

I get a large kitchen knife and cut them in half or quarters first (you do have to have a big knife or cleaver, and give it a bit of welly - mind your fingers!), then add them to the apple (or pop them inside a pot-roasting pheasant).  They don't give much flesh, but the flavour and perfume is wonderful.

please tell me you don't throw the fruit away,even if they are deformed you can still use them.I make quince jam from both types of quinces...japonica and tree variety the name escapes me.The scent and colour of the japonica is lovely and if you have only a few you can add them to other fruit.

My japonica bushes this year were very poor and one died,,maybe too wet or cold.The tree produced very little maybe its lack of bees or combination of it all.

Today's effort, from japonica. Mine have a lot of fruit this year, quince jam is next!

I hate to admit it but I have been throwing the fruit away, but not any more.  Next year I shall be saving every fruit that is on the plants and trying the receipes and tips you have all kindly given.  Figrat your jars look delicious thanks for the photo.

I made Quince wine last year; it is known to be very slow to 'clear', so I don't expect to bottle it for some months yet. To cut the quinces, I use a big old carving knife and pretend I'm in a martial arts film. Had no quinces off the big tree this year but a few of the japanese type; not enough to make wine.