Quince is a pome fruit related to apples and pears. An old-fashioned fruit, once quite popular, quince is rarely used now due to the astringent quality of the fruit. Quince cannot be eaten directly from the tree like a pear or apple (tannins in the fruit leave a bitter taste), but needs to be cooked in some way to bring out the best of its floral aroma and natural sugars. Quince have a wonderful old-fashioned floral aroma — left in a bowl on the counter they will fill the room with their fragrance.

Although quinces are too hard and astringent to eat raw, they can be made into jam, jelly, and other treats. Quince pair especially well with apples and when added to apple pies (cook a bit first since they require a longer cooking time than apples do), cobbler, and applesauce they enhance the flavor of the apples quite well. They can also be roasted, baked, or poached and go wonderfully with a nice pork roast or lamb. Quinces do well with warm spices such as cinnamon, allspice, anise, and ginger.

We are lucky to have a quince tree in our yard, but if you do not have a quince tree from which to pick your own fruit you can find them at Whole Foods Co-ops, some specialty grocery shops, ethnic markets, possibly your local farmers’ market, and through some online distributors.

Poached quince:

As the quince is simmered it develops a nice rosy tint that can deepen to a ruby red the longer it is cooked. Poached quince can be added to yogurt, ice cream, or served alongside other desserts (like cake) or meat dishes. You can also experiment with the flavor by adding vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, or citrus, but I like the flavor of just the honey and star anise.

Be careful when cutting quince — they are super hard and you want to make sure your knife is sharp and your cutting board secure.

• 4 cups water
• ½ – 1 cup honey
• 2 star anise
• 4 medium-size quince

Put water, honey, and star anise into 4-quart saucepan. Cut quince into quarters, cut out core, and peel with paring knife, add to liquid in pan as cut to keep from browning. Bring the liquid just to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer until quince is soft to your liking (about an hour to just tender, or a bit longer to soft enough to cut with a spoon). Poached quince (in the syrup) will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.