common flowering quince

John Mason

i have a quince tree growing the garden and i have a bumper crop of frruit (the only things that grow this year)

this is the plant i have http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaenomeles_speciosa

does anyone know anything about it? i have picked the fallen fruit but there is still loads on the bush.

should i wait until they turn yellow before i pick the rest of them?

also any recipe ideas?

looksee

They make lovely quince jelly, you make it with much the same process as apple jelly. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jelly/

John Mason

looksee wrote: »

They make lovely quince jelly, you make it with much the same process as apple jelly. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jelly/

great recipe thanks.

do you know how to tell if they are ripe?

looksee

I'm a bit hazy, its a good few years since I had a bush of them, but yes, I think you wait until they have changed colour. Even ripe they are very sour.

lottpaul

The bad news is that you can't make jelly from the fruits of the Japanese quince (chaenomeles).
The quince you need for jelly are chinese quince - a much bigger fruit.
The Japanese quince will never soften enough for you to peel them etc. That said, I have used them to flavour apple jelly with great success - they have a lovely spicey smell.
You'll know they are ripe when they are a deep yellow but the real test is the smell. It's rich and full of scent. They tend to stay on the bush for ages so you may need to pull them off.

looksee

Oh! I'm glad I didn't know that when I made jelly from them then! Yes they are very tough and hard but my memory is of chopping them and stewing them then straining off the liquor, but agreed, its a while ago.

John Mason

thanks, for that.

will they ripe on the tree? or are they avocado and only ripen when you pick them?

Bixy

The quince for making jelly from is Cydonia oblonga, different species from the one being talked about above. I am trying to grow it in the dublin area with not too much success!