Quince?

 Who knows what Quince are?

These are quince fruit growing on a bush in our yard in Homer, New York. 

I have to admit that until a couple of years ago I only knew it as the word that rhymed with "mince" in the poem The Owl & the Pussycat by Edward Lear. As something to eat with a runcible spoon. 

 Quince is an ancient fruit that some assert was present in the Garden of Eden- a quince was the fruit that the serpent tempted Eve with. They grow in abundance in the Argentina, Morocco, Turkey, China, Iran, Serbia, Italy, Spain and more. It has been believed to have many medicinal properties. 

The fruit is hard & goes from green to yellow when fully ripe. It is not edible without cooking the white flesh which turns pink when heated. Quinces are wonderfully fragrant fruits, however they’re basically inedible raw and it can be difficult to know what to do with them.The easiest and tastiest thing to do with them is to make Quince Jelly. 

I have learned to make Quince Jelly by reading the blogs of others! Quince Jelly is a culinary delicacy! It has a taste that is hard to describe- with hints of pear and citrus! There are no commercial producers of Quince Jelly in the United States. If you are lucky someone who has a quince bush will make you a jar of Quince Jelly or you can buy some at a Farmers' Market. I sell Quince Jelly!