Hello,
The native quinces that grow here in North Carolina, zone 7, must become
very ripe to be good to eat raw. That's VERY ripe. Then they are yummy!
If eaten too soon they will pucker your mouth.
I don't know where else they might grow.
Good luck,
Eileen

John Savage wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" writes:
I have always lived in a warm climate so I have never grown medlars or
quinces nor seen them grow. I am now moving to a climate with a
cooler winter where I speculate that they might grow.

The area that I am moving to has a cool winter that lasts about 4 months
where the morning temperature is about -3C to 6C ( 27F to 43F) it has
heavy frost occasionally but it does not snow. Summer is warm to hot
(25C to 35C max) and it can be humid. I am not that familiar with the
USA zoning system but I guess it is zone 9.

Is there any chance of these fruits growing there?

The quinces that I have bought have always been hard and not tasty when
raw but good cooked. Do quinces ever ripen to the point where they can
be eaten raw? If so how is it done and what are they like?

No. Raw quinces are not palatable. They always do have to be cooked.
It's a novelty to chew on a small piece of one, but the novelty would
soon wear off if I had to eat a whole one raw!

Books advise that you must first blet your medlars, that is allow them
to ripen to the point of being nearly rotten. A question for those who
have eaten them, are medlars worth the trouble or are they just an
oddity that deserves obscurity?

I know nothing about medlars, but your mention of soft fruit sounds to
me like you are inviting bird trouble!
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)