I planted a quince, a first for me, in spring last year. This year it was covered in beautiful pink blossoms and produced four wonderful fruits. On Tuesday of this week I tried picking them and, to my surprise, they came away quite easily in my hand. Feeling the fruit they seem quite solid to the touch and this being my first experience of quince I am not sure what to do with them. Right now they are sitting in a bowl on the dining room table......not smelling of anything very much. Hopefully they will as they mature.

I have had my tree for 12 years, and last year I had over 100 fruits. In previous years as they ripened I could smell them as I walked towards the tree.
They look very beautiful, and the blossom is gorgeous. They stay hard, but can be baked like apples. I cook them with apples to gain an added fragrance, and make apple, quince and orange marmalade. If you great them, pack them in a jar with suger, cover with brandy or vodka and leave for a year they make a good liqueur
I have also made quince and ginger jam (less successful) and membrillo which goes dry well with Manchego cheese but is, frankly such a hassle to make I haven't repeated it recently! However, it keeps for years and costs a small fortune if you buy it in Waitrose!

Quince jelly. Make like blackberry jelly, doesn't take as long as membrillo and you can't cut it up into squares, but you get the flavour.