Fruit identification

[WobblyLondoner]

Does anyone know what this is?

Hard but with a fuzzy skin, about 4cm diameter, slightly perfumed.

Found under a tree which was overhanging a wall (so I couldn't see the rest of the tree!).

Tried google but it thought it was a lemon!!

Quince, maybe?

Yes - I did wonder that but it didn't seem the right texture or size (i say that as a total quince novice so happy to be corrected).

The other end!

I thought quince too.

Yes, quince. I thought that when you mentioned perfume. Make som jelly for the Christmas cheeseboard!

Definitely a quince

Do it side on. But my bet, before even scrolling to the picture, was quince. If it stops raining I will go and grab one of mine. They are very round.

Yup, quince.

Thanks all, that's a unanimous quince then!!

Yes, it’s definitely a quince, @WobblyLondoner - they can be very small. A kind neighbour often gives me a bucket from her tree and they’re so tiny I can’t face trying to peel them, so I make jelly with them. Just use the whole fruit and it goes the most beautiful jewel-like colour.

My neighbour used to make quince wine. Lethal stuff - take care if you venture down that path!

Can you make quince jelly with just one quince? I wish I'd realised, I'd have collected more!

You need a fair amount, unfortunately! But if you just put that one in a bowl with some apples, it will scent the whole room.

And a runcible spoon.

This is what I do with a single quince, though mine are a bit larger from pear sized up to mango sized.

Peel the quince and core it. Boil the core and the skin with enough water to just cover, keeping the lid on, until everything's soft or a bit longer. Then strain the remains plus water - for a small amount like that I use a strainer with a saucer on top and the heavier weights from my scales, leave it a few hours till no more drips are coming through.

Meanwhile, cook the pulp with a tiny bit of water - it'll cook very quickly, more quickly than apples. You can either add about the same amount of sugar, keep cooking and stirring till it leaves a dry strip along the bottom when you draw the spoon across, then put it in a flat tray and dry it more in a low oven - this gives you membrillo or marmelado - quince cheese to eat with cheese.

Or you can leave it unsugared and eat it as fruit, with some sugared syrup.

Come back to the strained juice - put that back in the pan with a decent heap of sugar, stir the sugar in and boil as if you were making jam. Either wait till a bit dropped on a cold saucer wrinkles when you push it with your finger, and that'll give you enough quince jelly for a crumpet or two, or stop before you get there and pour it over the flesh that you haven't made into quince cheese, and eat as a dessert.

Hmm.. not very big, ours grow to the size of a large apple. They mostly get used for quince vodka.
Recipe - 1 large quince
1/4 litre vodka
100gm sugar
Wash the quince and grate it up (the whole thing - no need to peel, core etc)
Put it in a jar with the vodka and sugar (fairly quickly or the grated quince will go brown)
Put the top on the jar and turn gently to mix - turn once a day for 2 weeks, then a couple of times a week for another 4 weeks. Don't shake it, the quince will break up and make the vodka cloudy.
After the 6 weeks strain off the grated quince and bottle the vodka. It should be a lovely golden yellow. You can drink it right away.

If it’s very small might be from an ornamental quince shrub?

I dont think Chaemomeles fruits are downy, are they?