quince...???? when is it ripe and any way to use raw???

[kaybee]

Hi--

Im wondering if anyone knows if theres any way i can use quince raw, and how i would know if it is ripe.... there is a tree of them at our school and the fruits seem to fall off easily, even though they are as hard as a rock. I know quince is supposed to be sour, but does it ripen or soften at all? Is there any way to use these raw? and do they have any nutritional value? I hate to let them go to waste and I doubt anyone else there is going to use them.....what if i put them through my juicer? would that be of any benefit?

thanks--

kb

[luckitri]

What is quince?

[kaybee]

a big hard yellow fruit that i initiallly thought was a pear.....

[luckitri]

What is quince?

here is quince: http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch51.html

the part about when ripe is on bottom and it says that only a variety developed in the 1990's is OK to eat raw. Now I know why I did not know. It looks like a wonderful cross between an apple and a pear.

[spirulina28]

Yes,I tried eating it raw, cut up like an apple but it is very astringent
Since then I have used quince raw as it is one of the highest foods in Fluorine.
"Raw food, Real world" has a recipe for a quince pavee which is thin slices of quince alternatively layered with thin slices of apples.

I've also made quince leathers, I juice the fruit (otherwise it is quite gritty) and mixed it with other dried fruits.
Traditionally people make quince gelee out of the fruit, which has a beautiful , elegant flavour which you don't get when you eat it raw. I love the smell of this fruit!