Quince ripens through September and October, turning from hard green-yellow to a deep gold with a perfume that fills a room before you even see the fruit. Left too long it drops and bruises, or gets caught by the first frost and turns soft and brown overnight, so the job is to get it off the tree at the right moment and into a store where it will actually keep. Unlike apples, quince bruises easily and doesn't forgive rough handling, so how you pick and lay it up matters as much as when.

Pick and Store Quince Before the First Frost

What you need

1 shallow crate or tray wood or plastic, wide enough to hold fruit in a single layer
4 sheets newspaper to line the tray
1 soft cloth for wiping the down off each fruit
1 basket or trug for carrying picked fruit without piling it deep

Step by step

Watch for ripeness through September and into October: the skin turning from green-yellow to a solid gold, a smooth rather than stony feel, and a strong sweet scent close up. Pick before the first hard frost even if a few fruits are still a shade green underneath.
8 min
Cut or twist each fruit free with a short stalk left on, cradling it in your palm rather than tugging — a hard pull bruises the flesh under your thumb.
20 min
Lower each fruit into the basket as you pick, rather than dropping it in, and keep the basket no more than two or three fruits deep.
10 min
Wipe the grey down off each fruit with a soft cloth so you can see the skin clearly.
10 min
Check every fruit for bruises, splits or insect holes, and set aside any that are marked or already very ripe to use first — they won't keep.
10 min
Line the tray with newspaper and lay the sound fruit in a single layer, spaced so no two are touching.
10 min
Move the tray to a cool, dark, well-ventilated place close to freezing — an unheated shed, garage or porch — kept well away from apples or pears, since quince perfume taints other fruit stored nearby.
7 min

Afterwards

Check the tray weekly right through autumn and winter, and pull out anything that has softened or spotted before it marks its neighbours. Keep the store cool and dark — warmth pushes quince to ripen and soften fast. Handled this way, fruit picked in good condition keeps for two to three months; use it before the flesh turns from firm gold to brown.

Questions

Can I pick quince before it's fully yellow?

Yes — picking a little under-ripe, while there's still a faint green blush, gives longer storage life, and it will keep ripening in the tray. Flavour is best from fruit left on the tree as long as the weather allows, so only pick early if frost is closing in.

Why does my quince have fuzzy grey down all over it?

That's normal on most quince varieties, not a sign of disease. Wipe it off before storing so you can spot any rot developing on the skin underneath.

One fruit in the tray has gone brown and soft — will it spread?

Remove it straight away and check its neighbours closely. Quince rot spreads fast between fruit that are touching, which is why a single, spaced-out layer matters more here than it does for apples.

Can I store quince with my apples?

Better not to. Quince gives off a strong perfume that other fruit absorbs, so apples and pears stored nearby can end up tasting of it.