[Sca-cooks] quince question - retting?

[Patricia Dunham]

We were amazed to find an actual quince fruit on our decorative flowering quince in the middle of the summer!

I know (theoretically) that quinces are among those fruit that ripen by the rather weird process called "retting", which involves ALMOST letting the fruit rot! 

Can anyone advise about how to identify the magical moment between ret and rot, and what one might usefully be able to do with ONE small quince (let's see, it's now at 74g or 2 & 5/8 oz; about an inch-and-a-half to 2 inches diameter). The surface is slowly wrinkling up, feels sort of waxy to the touch, smells wonderful, of course, is completely dry at this point. It's been in the house at least a month, I have it in a small glass dessert cup, in a wire hanging basket, so it's getting good air circulation, but won't drip liquid on anything, if it goes squishy without my noticing.

Any info gladly received, THANKS!

Chimene in Adiantum