Our quince have now turned yellow/pale green and a couple have fallen off the trees.
They are as hard as a rock with no aroma at all.
Does the fact that they have started to fall mean that we should pick them??
When picked, we intend to store in the cellar for around 6 weeks.
How do we know when they are ready to be used?
They remain hard I have never tried one raw, best used as a jam the original Marmalade The only way I have used them is quartered and roasted with a Pork joint
I shall be interested to hear of your experience with yours, @Nigel-at-BUF-House . I have never tried using them until I came here and saw some at the market. Following the stall-holderâs recommendations (they were rock-hard) I made quince jelly with them. It was a most interesting flavour but another time I would cut down on the sugar - far too sweet for my taste. I donât think they are ever anything but rock-hard and have to be used like that but the jelly was the only experience I have had. How long do you roast yours for @stevefrance64 ?
My culinary skills are nil but I found this Pork chops with apples, quince and sage | Jernej Kitchen
Only ever used them hard, to make quince jam, or quince jelly cubes. From memory, seem to recall that they stay hard until they rot.
The aim was to make them like fruit pastilles, and just eat them as sweets, but they turned not quite as expected 
We also managed to burn the pan, so it was more of a salvage operation than a delicatessen !
I can understand that! The quince jelly we made was definitely sliceable - perhaps we should try to get it out of the jar, cut into bits, roll in icing sugar and call it Turkish Delight
When our quince are ripe, Iâm hoping to make a quince / apple crumble and will probably freeze some as well.
This is what membrillo (Spanish cheese accompaniment) is made out of.
I love quinces and think theyâre best roasted. (I added hot water and honey, top up the water from the kettle to keep it moist in the earlier part of cooking till juice appears then keep checking). Take care cutting them into kind of quarter-pear type slices. Uncooked, they are hard as billy-o and if your knife isnât sharp and the heavier your knife the better , you can do yourself an injury struggling with their hardness.
Though despite their hardness, take care of them because they do seem to bruise in an unseen way which you will see when you cook them. Store them like apples ideally with a bit of paper kitcgen towel round them and they can keep for months.
They take aaaages to cook, till they turn pink and are cooked. They are done when a roast-slicing fork or similar (skewer, etc) will go into them easily. Meanwhile your house will have a most wonderful perfume floating through it.
Putting a few (precooked or very close to totally cooked) quince slices into an apple pie or crumble will transform it to something even more lovely.
Sally Clarkeâs in Kensington Church Street used to do an amazing quince open tart in season and I used to gluttonously look forward to it every year.
Keep a few in a bowl in the house as they have a lovely delicate perfume.
I tend to par-boil them and then roast. My favorites are quince and walnut tart, quince tarte tatin, a slightly spiced pâte de fruits, and quince jelly.
Quince paste is fab with cheese especially sheepsmilk cheese. You can make compĂ´te and freeze it, put it in pies in chunks (parboil it first), quince jelly is heavenly. I have a jar of quince with salt cinnamon and chilli fermenting away. Oh and of course lovely with anything roasted.
Grate one and make Quince Vodka. Its very good. Theres probably a recipe online but I grate a âlarge handfulâ of Quince (sorry I cant be more specific!) into a large Parfait jar, top it up with vodka. Add some sugar if you like. Keep it for about six months turning it occasionally then strain it off into smaller bottles.
Rather like making Sloe Gin.
Hello Adam, welcome and what a nice topic to choose for a first post. 
Is that raw quince? Skinned or âas isâ?
I can also recommend plums of any sort. And basically any fruit. Althpugh rhubarb works better in gin.
I saw the effects of alcohol very clearly the first time I made quince vodka, I didnât chop it small enough and some poked out unbeknownst in the cupboard, well it went all wizened and leathery and dark brown, and what was in the vodka stayed as was - thereâs a lesson there I expect 
Hmmm⌠seems Iâd better fall off the wagon, quickly⌠
âŚ@Stella will be along shortly
What a lovely recipe.
Will the fruit in that count as part of your five a day?
