fruit
Foraging Quince
Hard and astringent raw; aromatic when cooked.
What to do with it
- Always cook — too hard raw
- Poach into rosy slices
- Cook into membrillo or jelly
Ways to keep it
- Membrillo (paste)
- Quince jelly
- Quince vinegar (ferment)
- Spiced quince (vinegar)
About Quince
The quince (; Cydonia oblonga) is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the Malinae subtribe (which contains apples, pears, and other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright golden-yellow pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear. Ripe quince fruits are hard, tart, and astringent. They are eaten raw or processed into jam, quince cheese, or alcoholic drinks. The quince tree is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive pale pink blossoms and as a miniature bonsai plant.
From Wikipedia.
Tree and plant locations come from Falling Fruit, a volunteer-run map of the urban harvest, used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. This project is non-commercial. Locations are crowd-sourced and provided as-is — always confirm a plant's identity and that you're welcome to pick before foraging.
Photos and descriptions from Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons. Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors. Not affiliated with Falling Fruit, Wikimedia, or OpenStreetMap.