Identify this bush / plant please!

the.hearns

Hello, We've moved into a house with many weird and wonderful plants, most of which we don't recognise! I'm hoping someone can help identify this plant? It's a thorny bush, but has these 'fruits'. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Buttercupdays

Chaenomeles japonica, Japanese quince. The fruits are edible when really ripe and make a flavoursome jelly or jam. Has scarlet flowers in spring.

the.hearns

Oh, great, and thanks very much! It did have red flowers in the spring. Do you know when the fruits will ripen please?

Dovefromabove

Usually usable late autumn so any time onwards ... only suitable for cooking down into a jelly or to flavor game casseroles etc. They don’t ‘ripen’ for ‘eating’ as a fruit ... but they have a great flavor so are loved by cooks if the culinary quince Cydonia isn’t available. 

the.hearns

Great, thanks so much.

Cambridgerose12

With many varieties you can tell when they are ripe because the fruits have the most wonderful smell. But they stay hard.

Topbird

Quince jelly is my favourite 'garden produce' jelly - sweet, perfumed, slightly citrus - difficult to describe but delicious with pate, chicken, pork and game. A large teaspoonful stirred into gravy is excellent. Easy to make - there's no need to peel or core the fruit - which is a bit of a chore because the fruit is so hard.

I also peel, quarter, roughly slice and freeze some uncooked fruit. A few slices added to apple pie or crumble gives a lovely flavour - also nice added to game and pork casseroles.