Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Name that fruit!

I have a bush in the front of my home that made these...


No they're not apples. The bush I got them from is probably about the same age as the house (60 yrs) and is only about 6-7ft tall. The fruit smells like an apple/pear, but are really hard. My mom says they are quince but I just wanted to know for sure. If they are quince I plan on making quince jelly.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your mom is right. ;)

Kim

Julie Frith said...

Quince?

Life is 5 Minutes Long said...

They are quince. Look up recipes for them. They are quite an exciting fruit!

Life is 5 Minutes Long said...

Quince Jelly SUBMITTED BY: FAYEBABES PHOTO BY: Leenie & Dee

"An old family recipe for quince jelly. Quince is a fruit related to apples and pears. It is quite tart, and cannot be eaten raw. This jelly is the perfect way to make use of the quince fruit."

RECIPE RATING:

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PREP TIME 30 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 45 Min
Original recipe yield 8 (1/2 pint) jars

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Servings
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INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
7 1/2 cups sugar
3 fluid ounces liquid pectin
4 1/2 cups water
3 pounds quinces, cored and chopped, peels on
1/4 cup lemon juice
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DIRECTIONS
Sterilize 8 (1/2 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes, and have new lids ready.
Place the quinces in a large pot, and pour in water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain off 4 cups of the juice. Mix juice with sugar and lemon juice in a heavy pot, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin, and return to a boil. Boil for 1 full minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Ladle into hot sterile jars, and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath to seal. Refrigerate jelly after opening.
Store sealed jars in a cool dark place. Refrigerate jelly after opening.
FOOTNOTE
Processing times may be different in your area. Follow the guidelines provided in your area for preserving foods by your local university extension.
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Anonymous said...

I think your mom is right

Anonymous said...

Quinces are yellow,in big pear shape, sour in taste and once you cut them they go brown almost immediately. Once you boil them to turn them into jelly they become red/orange. In my country fruits like yours are called applepears and they come form pear trees which are blended with apple seeds. They are something between apples and pears. Of course we have many other varieties of pears, apples and quinces trees. I am Greek and Greece produce almost every fruit in the world due to good climate. I don' t think your fruit is quince unless it' s not yet ripe. Wait to see if they get yellow

masterymistery said...

I think they are nashi pears. We see a lot of them on Australian supermarket shelves and greengrocers.

congratulations on blogs of note

masterymistery at cosmic rapture

Gina Perry said...

Are they a variety of asian pears? They taste like a cross between an apple and a pear (and a little like the texture of a jicama)- delicious and not cheap to get! I had a few of these last month and loved them, then noticed my local apple place (Applecrest, in Hampton Falls) grows and sells them.

karlee said...

I would have said Asian Pears.

Diamond~Star said...

I would have said asian pears too. I never heard of them as Quince. I have seen them before because my grandmother used ot have a tree in her back yard. I remember trying to eat one of those when I was little and they are so hard. My grandmother and great grandmother would boil them to make some type of jam. Whatever the name of the fruit, I wish you luck with making the jelly. Now that's what I call home made at its best.

PastelGuy said...

I'd go for quince. It makes quite good jelly and is oh so retro, as people don't really plant them anymore. The only quinces available in nurseries anymore are the ornamental ones.

Congrats on your Day of Distinction!

studio206.etsy.com

8podi said...

Hi, I'm not so sure about the quince...

The one's I know that grow around the med. are larger, yellow and have a fuzz on them. Kinda like an apple (or pear) skin with peach fuzz, that will come off if you rub at it, exposing the smooth skin underneath.

If you determine what they are please let us know.

TheOtherJennifer said...

I would have said "God didn't make the little green apples and it don't rain in Indianpolis in the summertime" - but I would be dating myself.

Quince seems right - I'll take a jar of that (I'm in NH too, so I don't mind the road trip!)

Anonymous said...

Mature Asian pear trees grow to 30 feet, so if these came off a bush, I'd say they are quince. Does the bush get a pretty coral-colored blossom in the early spring? That's a Japanese quince, although my quinces have never been as large as the ones you picked.

Femme1 (aka Deb)

the stroppy cow said...

Yep...those are quince alright!!
Very retro and a popular garden shrub here in the uk, in older gardens. My mum has one, its probably nearly 40 years old now!

Lynn
www.thestroppycow.com

Unknown said...

I definitely go for quince. My uncle has couple trees in his garden. In Slovakia they are pretty common. They also taste good in a cake.
Here is a recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/QUINCE-POUND-CAKE-1462


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince

Anonymous said...

Someone at church gave us some of these apple, pear fruit and they called them papples. I had never heard of them. The people that gave them to us are in their 80's.
Ms Flo