I grafted a few quince this year which are looking very good and was wondering who else is growing them? I added mine on a callery pear with a Kieffer pear interstem. This is the basics about quince Quince - Wikipedia
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At my previous home in Rancho Penasquitos section of San Diego, I grew Smyrna Quince and absolutely loved it. I used it in salads, desserts, and fresh eating at times. Keep in mind that in my youth there was a turkish quince which as kids we just ate fresh off the tree. In my experience in my environment, this particular Quince can become a large tree although not quite as aggressive as standard Mulberry.
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Those sound very good Richard. Iām told they look very much like a pear but the taste is different. Apparently once cooked they are extremely good and very unique tasting. It will be a couple of years until I find out more about them when these start to produce.
Well yes, they are a Pome although they look like a pear on steroids. There is much literature to suggest that the āappleā in Genesis of the Christian Bible was a Quince. In those times, the same word was used for all Pomes. The Latin scribes of the Roman empire were mostly illiterate and translated word-for-word rather than by context. We also know at the time of the writing of Genesis that apples were not recorded in any other scrolls or cuneiform of the time in that area.
I would encourage you to try them fresh, thinly (and sparingly) sliced into a salad ā for example a Waldorf salad with about half the normal amount of Quince where pear would be used, and of course half the nut volume as well. Also in a straight fruit salad, where they make up 10%-15% of the total. I have also dined on French Vanilla Ice Cream with thinly sliced fresh turkish quince topped with a reduction sauce of the same (in SF Fishermanās Wharf of all places). Some people like to bake them in halves with a chunk of butter and cinnamon in the scooped out seed cavity. To me this is an excuse to eat butter ā much like most places serve lobster. I have made quince pies with little sweetner (no pectin, but arrowroot or similar), and also savory pie with quince and sausage. Loved them all. If the opportunity presents itself at my present location Iāll plant it again!
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Once your planter beds are complete maybe there will be room for a quince or two. The more I hear about them the more I like them.
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Fresh, the taste is ādryerā than pear. Somehow the difference between jujube and apple is similar to turkish quince and barlett pear. Note that I keep emphasizing Turkish Quince because there are other species of Cydonia, hybrids within Cydonia, plus a whole range of ornamental Quince (non-Cydonia) that are sold as āfruitingā plants by infamous sellers.
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The ones Iām growing are Bulgarian.
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According to the GRIN Record, they very well could be cultivars of Cydonia oblonga ā the real deal.
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Iāve got a Karpās Sweet Quince in its second leaf. Its trunk was partially eaten by voles last fall, but it leafed out and seems to be doing okay. No fruit yet.
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What is the taxonomy of this plant?
Couldnāt tell you. I bought it on a bit of a whim.
Tannin content of the raw fruit causes ādryā sensation when eaten. Cooking removes it.
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That could be true. However, the moisture content is also lower.
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I like quince alotā¦
Im not an expert but hereās my presentation for Backyard Fruit Growers Association with googling research i gathered 
(I add all the varieties I know to the end of the document occasionally):
Personally I like quince, even fresh without cooking, more than any apple Iāve eaten (and Iāve eaten 150+ varieties at apples tastings). Hudsonās Golden Gem and Ashmeads Kernel got nothing on my Russian quince :).
So much more aromatic if you can stand some of the pucker/starchyness (more minimal pucker/starchyness with those Russian tender varieties but there is still maybe a tiny bit of that even with those).
Thinly sliced I think most people can enjoy them who cant get passed some of the starchyness that makes you want to eat it slowly if eating a whole quince raw.
I grow:
Karpās Sweet Quince (mislabeled by RainTree unfortunately, probably another very very large variety)
Aromatnaya
Kaunching Quince
Kuganskaya Quince
Crimea Quince
I have I think 10+ other interesting Russian/Turkish varieties (30 trees total) that are grafted at my friends place we grafted past year (havent decided what to do with them since we both dont have alot land, but he does rent/live on a large farm so temporarily they are in large pots there until we figure where to plant them).
I think I like Aromatnaya, Kuganskaya, and Crimea the most in terms of health and quickness to fruiting (latter 2 fruited pretty decently in their 2nd year, others 3rd year).
The only diseases that i get consistently is the Quince-Cedar Rust in east coast (guess there must be some junipers trees close by in neighbors yard since its a cyclical disease between the quince and juniper i think i read).
I try to cut off any disease i see in spring/summer (so the spores dont cycle back to the junipers) and maybe put grafting glue after I cut to not leave an open wound for disease. Havenāt gotten fireblight yet which I think people are more worried about (spreading to their other more important treesā¦ alot of farmers would be hesitant to plant 1 quince as a novelty tree if it can spread to their apple/pear orchards).
Hereās a pic last year of the large quince in my hand compared to one of the tender/russian ones on left:
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bstrds.
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haha I love Raintree (just put another big order today), but yeh they goofed on that one.
Just wish I knew what that large one was. my 2013 catalog says they only had Aromatnaya, Havran, Portugal, Karps Sweet, Smyrna, Van Deman, Limon, Ekmek (i dontā have a 2011 catalog on hand, as thats the year i ordered actually to try to limit it more). I think it might be Portugal, but maybe outside chance its Smyrna or Van Deman based on photos of more oblong shaped quinces that kinda look like the quince in my hand.
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The fruit from my Smyrna at my previous home looks exactly like the one in your hand. Of course, what youāre holding might be a different cultivar with similar characteristics. 
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The only reason i ruled Smyrna out a bit more instead of Portugal is cause some of the main pics i see in google images look more consistantly more āsmoothā with a more ātriangleā tip at the top of the fruit than the one Im holding in hand (which were consistantly more āroughā and bumpy looking):
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then again Portugal in that 1st pic does look pretty smooth too heh (didnt noticed that early). its a mystery
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If you feed your trees appropriately (or have soil nutrients matching the native environment), then Smyrna looks like the one in your hand.