Growing flowering quince for fruit

Hey.

Something that has caught my interest a lot recently is growing flowering quinces not just as an ornamental but also for their fruits. Many varieties are very productive at growing large juicy fruits which can be used in cooking, making jams and fermenting into alcohol. In China and Korea I read that it's popular to make candies and tea out of them as well. Small plants can look a bit funny when they are loaded up on their fruits, it's like someone glued a lot of big fruits to a skinny branch. The typical flowering quince species are either Chaenomeles japonica(Japanese Quince) or Chaenomeles speciosa(Chinese Quince), alternatively there are many hybrids between the two species named Chaenomeles superba. To further add to confusion there are two other related, less commonly grown bushes with the name of Chinese Quince: Chaenomeles cathayensis and Pseudocydonia sinensis. Quite confusing! The latter two "Chinese quince" species can grow into quite big trees, unlike C. japonica and C. speciosa that typically grow no taller than 1,5 - 2 meters,

Typically the fruit of all these species is considered inedible raw, but can be tasty when processed with heat into pies/jam/syrup/tea/candy etc. In many ways they would be similar to a quince, and from what I understand they are closely related species - and "pseudocydonia" literally means "pseudo/imitation quince". There are exceptions though as C. japonica has over the past decades been bred in Latvia and later in other places like Sweden to produce bigger, more edible and juicier raw fruits and having less thorns often being completely thornless. So now you get not just very beautiful, ornamental bushes that flower for weeks but also quite useful, tasty fruits!

I personally have already a couple of Japanese quinces grown from seed and now also invested into the "Cido" variety from Latvia that is thornless and has more edible fruits that are said to taste a lot like lemons. I am also going to get ahold of C. cathayensis and I think P. sinensis because their fruits are very big and have a lot of juice in them, maybe C. speciosa too although for some reason I just don't feel much interested in them right now. I heard the hybrid C. superba have a couple of nice tasty fruit varieties too, I am thinking they at the very least can make a decent alcoholic beverage at least when distilled into a spirit which I suspect would have a very nice fresh, fruity flavour. I really wonder also if C. japonica or at least the Cido variety can make a nice cider when the fruits are juiced, maybe even the name Cido comes from just that - that they make a good cider??

Another big advantage of flowering quinces is that they are quite hardy and tolerant of frosts and low temperatures.

Thoughts? Has anyone else grown any flowering quince for their fruits and/or made use of the fruits, or thought about doing so or maybe tasted something that was made with flowering quince by someone else? To me it seems like there might be a lot of untapped potential in these fruits, again at the very least I think they likely make a very nice distilled spirit/moonshine! Might be decent for making homemade wine with too.

It's ridiculous how loaded those tiny bush twigs can be with huge fruits so close to the ground:



Examples of what the Japanese quince with extra edible fruit Cido cultivar looks like:




Chaenomeles cathayensis:

A contact gave me two runners from her flowering quince this season, 2 different varieties.  One did not survive transplant, the other looked great all summer.  We only plant things we can eat.  We hope to be able to eat them in the long run.  I'm hoping to get a new little plant of the variety that did not survive the transplant.
I also know a pharmacy with flowering quince in their parking lot.  I have a strong desire to try to get some from there... do they grow from cuttings?  

the flowering quinces of the main nearby town don’t tend to produce much, so we’ve taken to grafting twigs around to try to get better pollination. i made mead with some of the fruit at one point. they’re intensely sour, but have that nice quince floral note over the top. i’d love to have more to play with, but haven’t gotten any for my place yet.

edit to add: if your friend gave you runners, it sounds like cuttings should work. certainly layering does.

Oh, and the lady that I got my first plants from DOES make Membrio (or something like that) from her flowering quince.  She gave me a jar.  It's like cubes of firm jam.  I think I am suppose to spread it on crackers or something... but I just snag a cube and eat it when I want something sweet.

Thomas Dean wrote:A contact gave me two runners from her flowering quince this season, 2 different varieties.  One did not survive transplant, the other looked great all summer.  We only plant things we can eat.  We hope to be able to eat them in the long run.  I'm hoping to get a new little plant of the variety that did not survive the transplant.
I also know a pharmacy with flowering quince in their parking lot.  I have a strong desire to try to get some from there... do they grow from cuttings?  

I think cuttings should work, as Greg in this thread said if they shoot a lot of suckers they are usually quite extra easy to root. In general I think all rose family plants are relatively easy to root via cuttings as long as you do it right ie: Sterile soil, bag on top of pot; not too wet not too dry soil, just damp; and make sure no fungus gnats get in because fungus gnat larvae usually means byebye to cuttings.

greg mosser wrote:the flowering quinces of the main nearby town don’t tend to produce much, so we’ve taken to grafting twigs around to try to get better pollination. i made mead with some of the fruit at one point. they’re intensely sour, but have that nice quince floral note over the top. i’d love to have more to play with, but haven’t gotten any for my place yet.

edit to add: if your friend gave you runners, it sounds like cuttings should work. certainly layering does.

Maybe if they are frozen/exposed to frost first will they be less sour and taste better? Also wondering if they can be bletted.. Anyway nice hearing that they have an intense quince-floral taste at least, again I think that strong perfume-like flavour would probably make a very tasty distilled spirit/moonshine.

Hi Anton. When I was a child, my parents moved to a house with such an 'ornamental quince' in the garden. Chaenomeles japonica with red flowers. When I was a teenager I had friends who were into alternative ways to grow and eat food (they were the first vegetarians I knew, in the 1970s). I learned how to make jam. So I picked the nice-smelling Japanese quince fruits and used them in my jam-making experiments. It was the best jam ever!!!
As an adult when I finally 'settled' (after moving several times), I lived in a town with Japanese quinces all over in parks a.a. So I foraged them. But then, I don't know why, all of those bushes were removed and turned into grass lawns ... :-(
So I went to an organic nursery and bought my own Chaenomeles japonica, a variety with somewhat larger fruits (and red flowers). When I bought it, there were still some very ripe fruits on it. I took the seeds of those fruits and planted them. Now I have so many small Japanese quince shrubs, I even gave some of them to friends! I hope next year the first one (the one I actually bought) will start fruiting.

In our previous house we had a japanese quince which fruited well. I made a lovely fragrant jelly from it. The fruit stay hard even when ripe, I don't think they can be eaten raw easily! But can be cooked and used like a lemony apple. They do grow here, but I haven't seen fruit on any yet, I suspect they will need a bit of shelter, but I'm hoping that some of my C. Japonica started from seed will do OK on my drivebank - a south facing slope with rock retaining walls: early days yet.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Hi Anton. When I was a child, my parents moved to a house with such an 'ornamental quince' in the garden. Chaenomeles japonica with red flowers. When I was a teenager I had friends who were into alternative ways to grow and eat food (they were the first vegetarians I knew, in the 1970s). I learned how to make jam. So I picked the nice-smelling Japanese quince fruits and used them in my jam-making experiments. It was the best jam ever!!!
As an adult when I finally 'settled' (after moving several times), I lived in a town with Japanese quinces all over in parks a.a. So I foraged them. But then, I don't know why, all of those bushes were removed and turned into grass lawns ... :-(
So I went to an organic nursery and bought my own Chaenomeles japonica, a variety with somewhat larger fruits (and red flowers). When I bought it, there were still some very ripe fruits on it. I took the seeds of those fruits and planted them. Now I have so many small Japanese quince shrubs, I even gave some of them to friends! I hope next year the first one (the one I actually bought) will start fruiting.

Wow, best jam ever sounds like it was very, very tasty.

Nancy Reading wrote:In our previous house we had a japanese quince which fruited well. I made a lovely fragrant jelly from it. The fruit stay hard even when ripe, I don't think they can be eaten raw easily! But can be cooked and used like a lemony apple. They do grow here, but I haven't seen fruit on any yet, I suspect they will need a bit of shelter, but I'm hoping that some of my C. Japonica started from seed will do OK on my drivebank - a south facing slope with rock retaining walls: early days yet.

Interesting. Seems like this fruit is very good for jam/jellies. Overall the ratings of this fruit in this thread has so far been very high. Weird that this plant isn't grown for its fruits even more if the fruit can be so good when processed, is hardy and productive. I think some of the ornamental varieties might not be the best at bearing fruits and were rather bred for their ornamental qualities like flower colours and other properties, length of blooming etc.

I read that when they have bred new cultivars for fruit in Latvia and Sweden that they did look at how much raw juice could be extracted out of the different varieties. Seems like these fruits are also used commercially now in Latvia, I wonder how and if the juice is drunk raw or processed into something like syrup, candies or jelly of some sort or perhaps fermented into alcohol?

According to this article the main commercial use of flowering quince fruit in Latvia is making juice, juice concentrate, syrup and candy, while at a smaller scale it is used to make wine, cider etc. I guess ice cream flavoured with this might be quite a treat too:

The flowering quince hasn't been cultivated for much time as of yet. Processing started only in the 1970s, with manufacturers making juice, concentrate, syrup and candied fruit.

While smaller businesses make wine, beer and cider out of quince, and individuals use it for making cakes, pastries, ice cream and other delicacies.

I would be for sure interested in buying flowering quince juice concentrate lol, would potentially be awesome for making hard candy or an easy cider/wine/liquor from. Hopefully one day this plant will start popping up more in northern temperate climate orchards. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that until I get a chance to try the fruits from my own bushes personally.

My dad harvested quince when I was a kid and made the most amazing jelly - right up there with crab apple. This was back in the late 70's and early 80's when they seemed to be everywhere.  I guess they went out of fashion - don't seem them in such abundance. I guess people are reluctant to grow a fruit that requires some kind of processing to eat.

Most definitely high on my list of fruit bushes to grow. I remember them flowering for months on end, got to be good for bees. They're also a great place for small birds, providing a dense well protected thicket and a safe place to nest.

Edward Norton wrote:My dad harvested quince when I was a kid and made the most amazing jelly - right up there with crab apple. This was back in the late 70's and early 80's when they seemed to be everywhere.  I guess they went out of fashion - don't seem them in such abundance. I guess people are reluctant to grow a fruit that requires some kind of processing to eat.

Most definitely high on my list of fruit bushes to grow. I remember them flowering for months on end, got to be good for bees. They're also a great place for small birds, providing a dense well protected thicket and a safe place to nest.

And they were flowering quinces? Or ordinary quinces? Even the latter typically needs processing unless you live in a Mediterranean climate OR grow one of the rare varieties from Russia/Ukraine that are hardy and still grow to be edible raw. But I am guessing you are talking about the flowering quinces like this thread is about. Still some of the new flowering quince varieties like "Darius" and "Rondo" are actually said to be edible in their raw state and if so wouldn't even need to be processed. And I still think flowering quince can likely be made into a nice moonshine/spirit if fermented raw, maybe even as a wine or cider..?

Any varieties that people love?  For me so far 'Toyo Nishiki' has been my favorite by a wide margin.  It's lovely in the landscape and has very nice flavored fruit the size of apples.  The fruit smells like Sweetarts candy and have an apple/pear flavor overtone.  I have to cook them to enjoy them, but that's fine.  I'd much rather have a fruit that I have to cook to make palatable and not have problems with wildlife/insects/diseases to worry about.  

have you ever propagated out your toyo nishiki, other Greg M? layers, cuttings, etc?  i’m looking to add a quality cultivar to my place and that one definitely sounds like the ticket, but i’m finding them to be $30 or more most places.

greg mosser wrote:have you ever propagated out your toyo nishiki, other Greg M? layers, cuttings, etc?  i’m looking to add a quality cultivar to my place and that one definitely sounds like the ticket, but i’m finding them to be $30 or more most places.

I was planning on doing just that this spring, good fellow Greg M!  Drop me a reminder PM in the late winter.

I can confirm that layering does work well with chaenomeles.
I did it two years ago.
I wrote an article on layering gevuina avellana on my blog.
The method is exactly the same.
But you could also just bury low lying branches with earth and not do it in pots.
Half-cutting the branch and using root hormon powder practically guarantees success from one winter to the next.

For those of you interested in the way i do layering:
permabreed.blogspot.com   (click on labels in top left corner and choose gevuina to find the article on layering)

Membrillo is a quince paste that is traditionally served in Spain with cheese (it doesn't have to be Spanish cheese of course, it pairs well with a wide variety of cheeses and would be wonderful on a ham sandwich with some flavorful cheese). Poached quince is a floral, fragrant, luscious dessert, not unlike poached pears but firmer (amazing with some mascarpone). I have made quince liqueur as well which had a delicate honeyed fruit flavor. Quince is high in pectin so can be used in preserves with low-pectin fruits to help them set (and add some nuance to the final product). It has an astringent quality when eaten raw but gets very silky when cooked. I have seen it in braised meat dishes. I don't have access to an abundance of quince so what I make tends to be a little more focused on the quince rather than mixing it with other things but it's a really lovely fruit that I am always on the lookout for this time of year because it's so unique. And they tend to bloom early which is always a pleasure after the gray of winter landscapes.

Mercy Pergande wrote:Membrillo is a quince paste that is traditionally served in Spain with cheese (it doesn't have to be Spanish cheese of course, it pairs well with a wide variety of cheeses and would be wonderful on a ham sandwich with some flavorful cheese). Poached quince is a floral, fragrant, luscious dessert, not unlike poached pears but firmer (amazing with some mascarpone). I have made quince liqueur as well which had a delicate honeyed fruit flavor. Quince is high in pectin so can be used in preserves with low-pectin fruits to help them set (and add some nuance to the final product). It has an astringent quality when eaten raw but gets very silky when cooked. I have seen it in braised meat dishes. I don't have access to an abundance of quince so what I make tends to be a little more focused on the quince rather than mixing it with other things but it's a really lovely fruit that I am always on the lookout for this time of year because it's so unique. And they tend to bloom early which is always a pleasure after the gray of winter landscapes.

Yes, all recipes for the ordinary quince (fruits of Cydonia oblonga) you can use for the Japanese or flowering quince (Chaenomeles cathayensis) too. There is only a little difference in taste and smell.

Yesterday I posted about Chaenomeles cathayensis on a different forum and today I found this thread!  I'm very obsessed with Chaenomeles I guess cause I've got a bunch of cultivars as well as doing some breeding work.  I just harvested about 120 hybrid seeds developed from crossing C. cathayensis with C. speciosa cv. 'Toyo Nishiki'.  Hoping to develop some more dual purpose cultivars that are good producers and also attractive in the garden.

Here's a link to my thread on Chaenomeles cathayensis:
https://growingfruit.org/t/cathay-quince-chaenomeles-cathayensis/48991?u=johannsgarden

That sounds like a great project Johann!  Does the lemon flavor of cathay quince have bonus flavors that differ its flavor from lemon, such as a bit of apple or pear or floral tones?  Also, do you know how much shade cathay quince can tolerate?  I'm interested in growing them but haven't planted any yet.  I have a flowering quince seedling that I call 'Lemon' due to its appearance and its true lemon flavor tone, though it does have some bonus flavors.  I like it a lot anyway but am just curious how pure a lemon flavor might be possible.  You do have me wondering if there may be any cathay quince blood in my seedling due to the lovely lemon flavor and elongated shape.

I just bought some chinese quinces at the local farmer's market. This thread is nice inspiration, I was wondering what I was going to do with them. I'll report back after I've decided and gone through with it!

Greg Martin wrote: Does the lemon flavor of cathay quince have bonus flavors that differ its flavor from lemon, such as a bit of apple or pear or floral tones?  Also, do you know how much shade cathay quince can tolerate?

I've never noticed any apple or pear flavors in any flowering quince fruit, though I wouldn't be surprised if variations exist as there are many cultivars I have not tried.  A lemon like acidity has been the dominant flavor in all that I have tasted.  I'm fairly certain Cathay quince could tolerate bright shade, but my recommendation would be to give it as much sun as possible.  Its thorns are serious business and because of that I would choose a sunny spot to encourage the most upright growth habit for easiest management.  If it's getting more shade it's more likely to be less upright and more leaning which will make it harder to get to the fruit for harvest, though probably ideal if you were wanting it to form a barrier.

Johann Kuntz wrote:
I've never noticed any apple or pear flavors in any flowering quince fruit, though I wouldn't be surprised if variations exist as there are many cultivars I have not tried.  A lemon like acidity has been the dominant flavor in all that I have tasted.  I'm fairly certain Cathay quince could tolerate bright shade, but my recommendation would be to give it as much sun as possible.  Its thorns are serious business and because of that I would choose a sunny spot to encourage the most upright growth habit for easiest management.  If it's getting more shade it's more likely to be less upright and more leaning which will make it harder to get to the fruit for harvest, though probably ideal if you were wanting it to form a barrier.

Thank you.  I was thinking about using the Cathays for a barrier with fruit and flower benefits, but it may be a bit too shady.  Have you run across any flowering quinces with licorice flavor?  I found that with 'Orange Delight'.  I've also read descriptions online of some varieties tasting of vanilla or pineapple, but I've yet to notice those flavors in any that I've tried.  Seems like there's lots of potential.

Greg Martin wrote:Have you run across any flowering quinces with licorice flavor?  I found that with 'Orange Delight'.  I've also read descriptions online of some varieties tasting of vanilla or pineapple, but I've yet to notice those flavors in any that I've tried.  Seems like there's lots of potential.

I acquired 'Orange Delight' earlier this year and will hopefully get to taste my first fruit from it next year.  I actually had not heard any flavor descriptions for it, but got it purely on a hunch that it may be self-fertile for fruit set which is a trait I'm very interested in incorporating into my *Chaenomeles* breeding.  I suspect the pineapple flavor description is just another way for people to say they taste dominantly sour in the same way I say lemon.  I personally think it would need to have a lot of sweetness to compliment the tartness before I would compare any of them to pineapple, but perhaps if cooked and sweetened adequately that flavor might be more noticeable.  I'd be very interested if you found one with vanilla flavor.  That's not anything I've encountered with them so far, but they do pair well with vanilla when I add it to them in cooking.

This thread is very interesting as we have just moved to a new house whose garden has very little that is interesting but does have a quince tree which is fruiting at present. I will have to harvest the fruit and get cooking.

In my opinion the taste of the Chaenomeles fruits is only comparable a little bit with the ordinary quince (Cydonia) and not with anything else. It has the sourness of the lemon, but different. Anyway: in jam (cooked and with sugar) it is delicious (but my sister doesn't agree with me, she doesn't like it)!

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:In my opinion the taste of the Chaenomeles fruits is only comparable a little bit with the ordinary quince (Cydonia) and not with anything else.

I agree with you that the fruit of Chaenomeles is quite different from that of true quince.  Aside from both being high in pectin and hard when raw they are quite different.  True quince has less acidity and more complexity in the flavor.  It can be eaten by itself whereas Chaenomeles should be treated as an ingredient for mixing with other things.  Chaenomeles also cooks so quickly compared to true quince.

I hope in time people will stop advising that Chaenomeles can be used simply as a substitute for true quince and instead recognize it for its own unique traits.

Is anyone aware of if the cultivar 'Simonii' is available in the United States?  Just finding this picture online makes me long to grow it

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:In my opinion the taste of the Chaenomeles fruits is only comparable a little bit with the ordinary quince (Cydonia) and not with anything else. It has the sourness of the lemon, but different.

Inge, have you had a chance to try 'Cido'?  I'm curious how much like lemon you would think it tastes.  I haven't tried it yet as it doesn't seem to be available in the US yet.
When I froze my 'Lemon' flowering quince fruit in preparation for candying I noticed when I opened the bag of frozen fruit pieces that it smelled EXACTLY like lemons, but at room temperature there are a few other bonus flavors/scents.  But that smell of the frozen fruit makes me sure that real lemon flavor/scent is possible with flowering quince and perhaps 'Cido' has fully captured that?  That smell was so much like lemons that I suspect it's the same compound or compounds that lemons produce.

Quince can also be used in savory food. Lamb and quince curry or eggplant and quince curry are classics in Kashmiri cuisine.
https://daankutth.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/quince-with-lamb-bammetchoonthh-ti-maaz/

My mum always loved quince. So it was always a happy day when she made the first quince curry of the season. Fresh Quince curried with lamb, with lots of fluffy white rice. In my head that’s the taste of Autumn. And then as the winter set in, dried quince with lamb, or on its own. Beauty itself.

I live near Kashmir and have visited many times but have never had quince curry or seen quinces. I don't even know which species it is that grows there.

So I guess the apple/pear flavor notes are subjective.  Today I made some Cathay quince biscuits using cooked pulp mixed with a little unflavored yogurt plus flour, salt, baking powder and almond extract.  I shared them with a couple other people and one of them commented that they could taste apple flavor in them.  It didn't make me think of apples though.  Either way they tasted great.  We ate them in a variety of ways.  They were great with just butter, also with jam, also with cheese and even with marshmallows... lol

Greg Martin wrote:[...
Inge, have you had a chance to try 'Cido'?  ...

Sorry, no I don't know that variety.

I just tried making syrup and quince butter last night.

I am... not that impressed, but some provisos.

It was my first time. The quinces may not have been so fresh. The recipes might need tweaking. I was cooking while distracted by small kids.

The syrup came out surprisingly flavorless. The quince butter is exceedingly grainy and not that nicely flavored.

I mixed some syrup with thin slices of ginger and made a reasonably refreshing hot drink for myself to sooth my throat after having a cold. I may prefer just ginger with honey though.

Edit: I'm sorry, I made a mistake. I did not use flowering quince. I used "Chinese quince" or "karin" in Japanese, which is apparently a different genus! Per wikipedia.

Possibly very different characteristics.

Johann Kuntz wrote:I suspect the pineapple flavor description is just another way for people to say they taste dominantly sour in the same way I say lemon.  I personally think it would need to have a lot of sweetness to compliment the tartness before I would compare any of them to pineapple, but perhaps if cooked and sweetened adequately that flavor might be more noticeable.  I'd be very interested if you found one with vanilla flavor.  That's not anything I've encountered with them so far, but they do pair well with vanilla when I add it to them in cooking.

Johann, reporting back to say that I've finally run across flowering quince fruits that have a pineapple flavor/smell.  I walked past a flowering quince planted as an ornamental and found some fruits on it, which I picked a few of.  When I got it home I realized that they smelled quite different from any of the flowering quinces that I'm growing.  I tasted one and struggled to separate the flavors in it.  The sourness was overwhelming the other flavors, so I decided to candy them to hopefully help sort out the interesting taste jumble.  When I opened the jar and gave it a sniff there was a clear pineapple scent.  I'm currently drying them and will be very interested if that pineapple comes forward in the candied fruit.  I will also say that when I candied my seedlings I froze them to soften them and when I opened the bag from the freezer there was a clear strong lemon scent on those fruits.  There are clearly a whole lot of wonderful compounds in these fruits just waiting to step forward with selection.  I am amazed by Chaenomeles!  I may have to go back and take a cutting from that "pineapple" shrub.  I saved seeds if they are of any interest.  I wish I knew what variety this one was.  I'll go back during flowering time to see if it has any uniqueness to its blossoms that might help identify it.

Vanilla remains elusive

Taste report.  This flowering quince with the pineapple smell definitely brings pineapple flavor to syrup and candied fruit made from it, but it's got competing flavors in there too.  The candied fruit might be able to fool some folks if cooked with, but it definitely would need its skin peeled off before making it as it's too tough and brings very non-pineapple flavor.  Not sure about this one.  Maybe I'll grow out the seeds.

My 'Cameo' flowering quince produced its first fruit this year.  I keep chewing on it trying to figure out what it tastes like.  Reminds me of something but I can't put a finger on it.  Not anything about it that really makes me want to eat it, but I'll keep trying to figure out what it reminds me of.  It is a beautiful shrub.

Link to thread about no-heat candying: https://permies.com/t/192748/Candied-chaenomeles-japonica-versatile-nordic

I will have to take notes here and keep an eye out for any of these flowering quince varieties.  The first quinces I tasted were from the nearby university campus and I have no idea what they were.  An ornamental shrub ca. 4 feet high with small, soft leaves, yellow fruits shaped a little like a real quince but much smaller.  Really interesting flavor, but 40 years later I don't remember exactly.  The last ornamental I tried was the taller shrub with 2-3 inch glossy dark green leaves with a red tinge;  it's a great ornamental, maybe a little too enthusiastic of a grower, but the fruits were awful.

Real quince is marmelo here in Portugal, and they use a lot of it in something they naturally call marmelada, a dark red ... don't know a good word for it, maybe a firm conserve.  It's really good.  Someone eventually must have had the idea to make something like it with oranges.  (In some countries in the Middle East, the word for orange is something like "portukali".)  In Brazil, they use guavas to make a very similar conserve that you get in a big round flat can.

Donn Cave wrote:Real quince is marmelo here in Portugal, and they use a lot of it in something they naturally call marmelada, a dark red ... don't know a good word for it, maybe a firm conserve.  It's really good.  Someone eventually must have had the idea to make something like it with oranges.  (In some countries in the Middle East, the word for orange is something like "portukali".)  In Brazil, they use guavas to make a very similar conserve that you get in a big round flat can.

Donn, I just made a large batch of marmelada from my tree quince yesterday!  I always call it membrillo, which I guess comes from the Spanish name, dulce de membrillo.  Last year when I made it I brought some to a Colombian friend of mine and she thought it was the guava version from her childhood  I love the way the quinces transform from a yellow sauce to a dark red as it cooks and thickens.  The flavor gets better and better as well.  I always eat mine on rustic crackers with a hard cheese.  Pure magic!

For those who haven't seen it, here's a picture from Wikipedia:

Getting ready for the holidays caused me to melt down my block of membrillo and mold it in inexpensive chocolate molds as well as in a nutcracker baking pan.  I was thinking that the nutcracker would be fun to put on a slicing board along with some Manchego cheese for crackers.
Amazing how red a yellow fleshed fruit can get with cooking, no?!