I have none. But I'm interested to see if you get any answers as we have a quince bush in our yard and I have no idea what to do with the quinceseses. What do they taste like?

Well, my research says they're too bitter to eat raw. I loves me some quince jam, so I'm going to try making that. Good ol' Google turned up a whole bunch of recipes, though I still hope to hear from the bunnies! (I like using recipes from friends, that have been tried and proven worthy of the effort.) They also had advice for how to tell that the quinces are ripe (apparently they don't soften, but they smell kinda like roses when they're ready).

I'm also going apple and pear picking at a friend's farm down the road, so I've got a lot of canning to do. Good thing the beets can stay in the ground. Damn, I'm amazed I find time to work some days.

What do they taste like?

Right, forgot to answer that one. Ummmm...they taste...quincey? I've only had quince stuff a couple of times, but quince paste is fantastic with a lighter tasting cheese (e.g., queso fresco or mild gouda or havarti). The preserves/paste are usually quite sweet and tart, with a vague hint of roses, as I recall. Help me out here? (Apparently they're quite popular in Greece, so I'm lookin' at you, taz.)

Now pears, pears are one of the most criminally underused foods on the planet, in my opinion. A good pear is a juicy bite of heaven.

I'm going to have to track down something quince-flavored to determine if they're worth doing anything with. It's a beautiful bush, though. Big, bright pink flowers.

I actually used this simple recipe a few months ago, and the result was very agreeable, except for the pretty important flaw that the jelly never really set. I think I used quinces that weren't ripe enough, or I didn't boil the juice long enough, or both. I'd make sure to have some pectin on hand if you also end up having trouble getting the jelly to set.

I think I used a little less sugar than the recipe calls for as I'm a big fan of the tartness of quinces.

Good luck!

Now pears, pears are one of the most criminally underused foods on the planet

I heartily concur. My gran used to make pear jam and pear pies every year. She couriered me a couple of her frozen pear pies as part of a care package when I was in university. I almost wept with joy. I'm going to try making pear jam with amaretto, I think. Pears go so well with almonds. And cheese. And other pears. The pears and apples from this farm are supposed to be outstanding, so I'm going to brave the rain to get me some.

Here's the list of quince recipes on epicurious.com, jrossi.

Quinces are incredibly, beautifully fragrant when they're ripe: a true perfume. If you don't want to cook with them, just bring them indoors and set them in a bowl.

They're inedible unless sweetened, very nice like a marmalade when made into jam. I've never made it, but my coworkers make it every year. It's one of those jams that's nice on a slice of crusty bread spread with cream cheese.