[gavinjconway]

Hi my learned lottie friends...  I was given a packet of Quinces from my neighbours creeper over her door arch today. They are yellow and still rock hard... Another neighbour has some still a bit greenish yellow on a small spindly shrub that she says are quince...   I'll pick them soon before the frost as well..

Do I leave them to ripen and go soft before making jelly? I've never made it before so also need a good recipe please..

Thanks Gavin

[mumofstig]

These are from a chaenomeles japonica/japanese quince, rather than fruit tree quince, I take it?

[Aunt Sally]

There is a reason that they don't sell quinces in [most of] the supermarkets. 

(They are not very nice, even after frosting.)

[gavinjconway]

These are from a chaenomeles japonica/japanese quince, rather than fruit tree quince, I take it?

Yes from a creepery bush thing...

[Brambles]

I make quince jam which is yummy... also have made quince wine...  The fruits remain hard, but when cooked (jam) they are very like plums but with a slight hint of a flavour of their own... WELL recommended if you like to make jam...   Wine would have been good only I made it too sweet for my pallet

[gavinjconway]

I love Quince jelly... a neighbour used to mak it when I was a kid (long ago....)

So I assume use a general jelly recipe off the forum and use the Quinces yellow and hard as they are now..

[Aunt Sally]

I think the quinces used for cooking are different to the Japanese quince that you have.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=298

[mumofstig]

  At least the RHS agrees that the japonica quinces are edible, most people make a jelly with them.
Recipe here
http://angiejardine.hubpages.com/hub/Make-use-of-quinces

[gavinjconway]

Thanks for all the advice.

Thing always happen in numbers...
1. got Japonica Quinces from my neighbour
2. picked a pile of biggish round JQ's from a hedge whilst on my rounds today collecting my catalogues in.
3. drove pase a house and eyed out a shrub absolutely laden with small flattish JQ's - so asked the owner if he used them and said help yourself... so i did.
4. got a pile of apples from a customers tree..
5. found another bush with more JQ's so picked them..

Then phoned my OH to go out to but a BIG bag of sugar, lemons and some pectin..

Boy am I going to have fun this weekend - a real mixed bag of difrerent types of jellies and jam sort of stuff to make and mix !!

[gavinjconway]

So far made...

10 jars of Japonoica Quince and Apple Jamelly (jam x jelly - sieved to remove hard stuff)  and 19 jars Jelly...

Now to make  pure Japonica Quince Jelly... will add photo later on