It's like persimmons. There are varieties which are astringent and varieties which are not. When I was a child there was a quince tree in the neighborhood with raw-edible quinces. The quinces around the corner from me which I never get any of are not. They all smell heavenly.

I would expect that in these modern days raw-edible quinces would come to dominate the market.

I use a microwave for squash. I cut the squash and remove the seeds, use it though, because it is easier to salvage the seeds from raw stringy goop than from cooked stringy goop.