Wormy fruit

[Cassandra]

Someone gave me some quince today. I saw a LIVE worm in one of them!!

How do you keep worms out of fruit, anyway? And is it OK to use the fruit where the worm hasn't been? I mean, with the quince the worm left an obvious trail. But if you wanted to make jelly, could you cut around it? Would YOU eat the good parts?

I haven't found any worms in my own quince. I'm just trying to decide what to do. Maybe I should just feed them to the chickens (the wormy ones, I mean.)

Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

Sure, I eat the nonwormy parts. (Not with the tunnel and poo pellets - just the untouched part of the fruit - although there is unlikely to be anything other than aesthetic consequences from eating the wormy part and the worm itself too for that matter).

If it weirds you out, cut the wormy bit out and use the rest to make applesauce or jam or pie or suchlike

My m-i-l's position on wormy apples (or other fruit) is, "either keep your eyes wide open when you eat, or else keep them shut tight" <vbg>

BTW I am suitably jealous of you having fresh quince (without paying a bijillion dollars at the store for it) - we are sadly just a bit too far north

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Cassandra]

I have bought quince at the store a couple of times. It's just not quite the same, you know...

PM me your addy and I will send you a couple. If I can afford the international shipping. They prolly weigh a pound or more each!

Do you ever eat them raw? That's the only way I have ever had them until last week when someone had some jelly.

Cassandra

 

[bills]

The only way I know of to keep fruit from getting wormy, is to spray the tree. Dormant oils, sulphur-lime type, seem to be popular. You spray in late winter, or very early spring.

I made some very delicious quince syrup last year, as my trees was loaded. It is great on pancakes!

I tried eating them raw, but found them awfully bitter. As it was, I added quite a bit of sugar to them while boiling for syrup.

 

[Cassandra]

Well, looky here. I made some quince jelly. (Not with the wormy ones. With my own ones. )

http://thinkersrock.blogspot.com/2008/10/quince-jelly.html

It turned out nice.

Hey, share your quince syrup recipe! I bet it'd be good on waffles, too. mmmmm

Cassandra

 

[bills]

Making quince syrup is the same steps as making quince jelly, but you simply leave out the pectin. This way it stays runny. You can vary the sugar to taste. There is some natural pectin in the quince seeds, so that, and the sugar, gives it a syrupy consistancy.

Aunt Jemima, move over! This syrup is hard to beat...