Exotic Fruit Spectacular: QUINCE

 While at the supermarket the other day, I saw a strange fruit that looked like the offspring of an ugly pair. This fruit was a Quince. My first reaction was this is a pretty damn ugly fruit, and my second thought was, what the hell is a quince?

 Ugly Quince ($1.00)

The quince is  predominantly an Asian fruit. Related to the pear and apple, they are grown throughout the Caucasus, the Middle East, and in my quinces case, California. Quinces are normally cooked for at least an hour in a sugary solution. This turns them a nice pink color and the quince is then supposedly quite tasty.  One of there more popular uses is that they are turned into a jam or jelly.

Cooked Quince Made Into A Jam

 Well having not done my research on how to prepare and eat a quince properly beforehand, I broke out the knife, gathered the coworkers, and tasted a quince in its raw form.

YOUR DOING IT WRONG

   The quince had the texture of a dry pear, not at all juicy. The flavor was of a slightly bitter apple. Really it was all in all pretty dry and bland. Which explains why they are usually not eaten raw.
 So reader beware, don't buy a quince like myself thinking you can just munch on it like an apple or pear. There is some preparation needed, and from all accounts, they are pretty good once cooked properly.

RATING

Raw Quince:  2/10