Questions about cooking and storing quince

I have several varieties of quince on order for spring planting. The plan is a trap tree for apple insects, a minor juice component to hard apple cider and our local candy maker might want to do membrillo. But how does it store? Keep like apples and pears? Is there a preferred variety for cooking? What else to do with a lot of it?

I am not Lane, but there are many fresh eating varieties of quince: Crimea, Kuganskaya, Kaunching. There are some others that I don't like that much. I grow only those, and I freeze most of the quince because it is so productive. Then I eat it all winter until the spring. I also make new trees out of the cuttings and use it as a rootstock for pear trees. IN addition, I add it to my kimchi to give it a slightly richer, more tart taste.
John S
PDX OR

Ann TorrenceI have several varieties of quince on order for spring planting. The plan is a trap tree for apple insects, a minor juice component to hard apple cider and our local candy maker might want to do membrillo. But how does it store? Keep like apples and pears? Is there a preferred variety for cooking? What else to do with a lot of it?

John clearly knows a lot more about quince than I do, but I got a batch this year from my cousin outside of Portland. I don't remember the variety. They kept well--more like apples and better than pears. I made a lemon-quince marmalade, which was wonderful but not exactly a food staple. Middle Eastern cooking often features quince--its sharpish taste pairs well with lamb-- and there are recipes in the trendy (and good!) Ottolenghi cookbooks.

I love quince, so I'll get in on the action!

Ann Torrence wrote: a minor juice component to hard apple cider

From what I understand, quinces help make excellent cider-
which makes total sense as they're aromatic and high in tannins like crab apples, another great cider addition.

Ann Torrence wrote: how does it store? Keep like apples and pears?

In my experience, quinces store better than any other fruit. I've seen quinces sit in a bowl for ages without rotting,
and they start to smell kind of like tropical citrus bubblegum after a couple of weeks

Ann Torrence wrote:Is there a preferred variety for cooking?

most quinces are basically inedible raw, and all as far as I know go a good red/burgundy when cooked long enough.
'Smyrna' has big, aromatic fruit which store really well.

Ann Torrence wrote:What else to do with a lot of it?

Make more membrillo! It sells well, especially if you can team up with a cheese person and market them together.
Any nut growers around? Blue cheese, membrillo and walnuts is a thing of beauty!

Found my confirmation. Here's what's on order from One Green World:

3 AROMATNAYA - QUINCE, RUSSIAN
1 KAUNCHING
1 ORANGE
1 SMYRNA
1 VAN DEMAN

Randall Graham, rockstar wine-maker of Bonny Doon Vineyard, is making a cider that is a blend of apple, pear and quince. Haven't tried it (going to have to special order it from the state package store) but that was the inspiration to plant these, along with the idea that quince are a good trap tree for apple pests. In however many years, we will add quince to the annual apple tasting party we have here (20 apple varieties last year) and report back.

I am getting around to cooking quince this year (3rd year of the tree -Aromatnaya variety- producing). The last two years I didn’t manage anything past a quince sauce and a lot of my fruit went bad because I waited too long to deal with it. This year I have time and am motivated! I just ordered Barbara Ghazarian’s book “Simply Quince” a few weeks ago. I love how many recipes there are, and every single one uses quince. I have already made the “Quince-infused vinegar” recipe and am hopefully going to make some savory recipes this weekend if the baby allows. I’ll try to remember to report back on how they turn out. But, if you need a compilation of quince recipes, it looks like a good book for that!

In my experience, quinces don't store very well.  The most common thing that people make of them is jelly. It is the highest in pectin of any fruit.  Barbara Ghazzarian told me that when I went to see her give a talk.  They are one of the driest fruits, so they are great for drying.  Sort of the opposite of Asian plums, which are very juicy. I freeze most of mine, because I just can't eat that much in October. My varieties are fresh eating types, but you still can't eat them like an apple.  You have to cut them in slices.  You can cook them if you want to. My wife adds them to apple pies. I will put some very thin slices in green salads and I add them to casseroles, pasta, rice, etc.    When I freeze them, they are much less dense and I can eat them more easily. Because they are so full of pectin, they are anti-inflammatory and I eat them before playing baseball for 3 hours with people half my age.   A quince tree is much more productive for its size than almost any other fruit.  A quince tree can be comically loaded with huge, dense fruit.  
John S
PDX OR

I got so many free quinces this year and didn't have time to process them all at once, so I stored some in root cellar conditions.

Firstly I sorted them into piles - the badly bruised ones and ones with large bits of damage get used right away, the next lot I are not as badly damaged and get stored for a few days and used as soon as possible, the perfect ones I layered in 5 gallon buckets surrounded by dry fallen leaves and put in a cool place.

They stored for two or three months this way, some of them perfectly, some of them a little damaged but still useable, as you'd expect from any root cellaring.

How I usually process the ones to be used right away is by slowly cooking them up in a spiced syrup in a big pot - they can either store at larder/root cellar temperature for a few days like this, or can be water bath canned if the syrup is sweet enough.

I got to get hip to quince apparently!

I've been meaning to do a blog post about quince for a while, covering the preparation method, storage, and ways to use it - here it is, in case anyone wants photo instructions and other details for how to cut them, how to prevent browning, and lots of other tips:

https://thenourishinghearthfire.com/2022/11/05/quinces-how-to-prepare-cook-and-preserve-them/

Wow Kate, I loved your post! I guess I will leave some of my quinces outside for a few days until I can deal with all the ones already inside.

I made the “Quince and Butternut Squash Soup with Curry” recipe from “Simply Quince” and it was really good! The baby loved eating some today! I also made the “Quintessential Quince Paste” and hoping to give some of it out as Christmas/Thanksgiving gifts.