What manner of fruit is this?
It’s a Quince, Cydonia oblonga, a deciduous, hardy shrub that bears aromatic, golden pear-like fruits. This is the cultivar ‘Vranja’.
Quince fruit typically ripen in October. They smell divine sat in a fruit bowl. They are nevertheless hard and sour at this point and are usually cooked in some way before consumption.
They can be stewed, poached, braised or roasted. Their pale flesh magically turns a gorgeous apricot/pink colour as they cook. Here I’ve stewed the quince with cinnamon sticks and star anise. Yum! They can also be made into conserves like marmalade, jelly, fruit leather and membrillo or indeed, into various alcoholic beverages.
Frogend dweller's Blog 
Mmm, I love the smell of quince. But I don’t think I have ever eaten them. They look so pretty in the sunshine. 😃
In spite of the difficulty cutting into them, they are a delicious thing to eat when cooked. Worth a try!
As far as I know, I’ve neither seen nor eaten a quince. Looking at the photo, I would have guessed the fruit was apples — perhaps tempted in that direction by ‘pomes.’ But once I learned they were quince, my mind happily went to the last verse of Edward Lear’s “The Owl and the Pussycat,” one of the first poems I memorized:
“”Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”
Lovely! Isn’t the word ‘runcible’ a delicious thing to say?
The fuzz on them made me think of a peach at first. I’ve only seen Japanese quince here, but have never eaten one. They do smell good though!
I’ve never eaten a Japanese quince, so I think it is time to compare them. The smell is different. Cydonia oblonga is sharper and more floral I think.
I love to see the flowers, but also am not familiar with the fruit.
Sadly, they are not seen in shops very often. I found my first in a local greengrocers.
I adore quince, but the prospect of find such beautiful golden fruit this far north is about as remote as find the golden apples of Hesperides in the local Co-op!
🤣 I wonder if you can get them as dried fruit?