Quince are not usually raised commercially, so you won’t find many picture-perfect specimens. Expect a few bruises and scrapes, but avoid fruits with soft, dark spots. Like pears, quince ripen from the inside out, so later in the season, you might find fruit that’s past its prime when you cut them open. I look for firm quince and lift them to my nose; if they have a nice fragrance, there’s a good chance they’re good candidates for poaching.

Some recipes advise soaking the peeled quince slices in lemon-tinged water to avoid browning. I’ve never done that, but instead, I simply slip them into the warm poaching liquid and any trace of discoloration soon disappears. Of course, this recipe can be halved, or increased.
Speaking of tasty dishes, poached quince are delectable spooned over vanilla ice cream or tossed with some apples and cranberries for a terrific fruit crisp, capped with polenta crisp topping. If you don’t feel like poaching your quince, grate the raw flesh right into a bowl of apple or pear slices destined for a pie or crumble.

Because the fruit has beaucoup de natural pectin, when reduced to a honey-like syrup in a saucepan, the liquid is exceptionally beautiful and thick, and makes a lovely, thick liquid nectar for drizzling or glazing a fruit tart. And it keeps for longer than you think; I have a small container that I made last year that I’ve been dipping into the last few months, in anticipating of the next batch, which, as you can see, is just about ready.