Quince Melomel

Hello,
Quinces are one of my favorite fall fruits, and while eating some quince pie the other day it occurred to me that a quince melomel would be quite tasty.

The only problem with quinces is that they are pretty much inedible raw; they're hard and astringent, but are magical when cooked. From reading The Compleat Mead Maker and these forums, it seems that the best thing to do is to add fruit to the secondary.

Here is my question: typically, quinces are poached in some sort of liquid.

If I want to make a quince melomel, should I just make ~4 gallons of show mead and then add ~1 gallon of cooked quinces mushed into the consistency of applesauce?

I assume I should add plenty of pectic enzyme, but how much?

And while we're at it, what's a good honey to use? One option I've considered is half raspberry/half alfalfa, to get some fruitiness without being overwhelming.

Treat them as apples ? i.e. mill them then press them for juice ?

Maybe mill or smash them up and add water and honey to make something like apple wine ?

Or your original idea or something using any combination of the 3 ideas ?

My suggestions would need pectic enzyme as that helps with colour and juice extraction too.

I'm thinking you need to work out the best method of extraction and whether to process the fruits in some way.

You wouldn't routinely heat apples or juice etc. As that gives you a cooked flavour etc......

rfsido, I would try one of two things. The method you mentioned, except that I'd add the fruit in secondary, as don't quinces have a very subtle flavor. Alternatively I would juice them, toss the pulp (or save it for a quince style skeeter pee like I do with apple solids when I make cyser) and use the juice as water substitute. It would take a LOT of them though.

I'm looking for the flavor of the cooked fruit anyway, and since I don't have the kind of equipment that I'd need to get the juice out (i.e., a cider press), cooking the fruit makes the most sense. I suppose I could grate the quinces before cooking to reduce cooking time as well as the amount of water I'd need to add, and hopefully retain more flavor.

I would definitely add the quinces during secondary fermentation, along with a good helping of pectic enzyme so I don't accidentally make jam.

Yes, quinces do have a somewhat subtle flavor; what honey should I use so that the flavor doesn't get lost? Clover? Alfalfa? I tasted some cranberry honey awhile ago and that seemed mild but fruity.

I might try to make a gallon or two of BOMM and then split it onto different fruits in secondary (if I make two gallons).

This might turn into Christmas presents for my hard-to-find-gifts-for family members.