I was given a quince recently. Until I was given my quince I actually had no idea what a quince looked like.  Mine is really big. It's a monster quince. I am not actually sure how it managed to stay on the tree. I mean look how much bigger it is than the loaf of bread. Okay it's also in for the foreground of the photo but it's big, really.

[caption id="attachment_1810" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="My Quince"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dsc01394.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1810" title="Quince " src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dsc01394.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a>[/caption]

I'm sure that we have quince in the States but for whatever reason I am more familiar with the kiwi and the starfruit than the quince and I don't think that the kiwi or startfruit can even grow in most parts of North America. I haven't really met a fruit that I don't like so it was a surprise for me to find out that this fruit which looks like an overgrown apple-pear mix is a quince.<!--more-->

Heck, I worked in a fruit and berry stand for a number of summers in high school and college I was pretty sure that I could tell you the growing season of the fruits that grow in North American but it turns out that I do not know everything. (I am sure that this will come as a huge surprise to my brother and sister and my high school students but no surprise to my mother.  Yep. I do not know everything.)

Anyhow, I digress.  After receiving this quince I decided that I need to do some research. It turns out that the quince is native to Bulgaria.  That's cool. The quince may have even been cultivated before the apple. Also pretty cool. Thanks to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince">wikipedia</a> I also learned that:
<blockquote>the Quince is frost hardy and requires a cold period below 7 °C to flower properly. The tree is self fertile, however yield can benefit from cross fertilization. The fruit can be left on the tree to ripen further which softens the fruit to the point where it can be eaten raw in warmer climates, but should be picked before the first frosts.</blockquote>
But what I didn't know before I received my first quince and ate one this past week is that the fruit turns brown very quickly after it's been cut.  Also the fruit is very dry and the texture of the fruit is a little bit grainy--the quince I ate slices of was neither crisp like an apple nor soft/mealy like a pear. It seemed to lack fruit juice and it wasn't very sweet.

Based on the fact that when I first saw the fruit and it looked like it should be a mix of an apple-pear I think I may have expected something other than what I was eating.  I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. I was rather disappointed. The fruit looks beautiful but frankly I had a really hard time eating it by the slice.  I was a guest at a friend's house and after asking about the fruits on top of their refrigerator, I had to eat it and I did so. But, I didn't love it. And, now I have my own.

It made me wonder what's so special about the quince?

Well it turns out that the quince, depending on the variety can be too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw. Ah-ha! Maybe this was the issue.

Because the variety dictates use many quince are made into things like jam or compote or in Bulgaria rakiya.  I understand that you can also peel and then roast, bake or stew the fruit and in doing this the flesh of the fruit will turn red due to the lengthy cooking time.  Hum, I wonder if I should be cooking this giant fruit rather than contemplating eating it sliced and raw.

I guess this means I should look up a recipe.