kame,
You can eat C.oblonga quince fresh - but I guess most folks don't care to. Typically, they're quite firm/hard and some have some astringency. I like them - but I also eat the fruits of flowering quince shrub(Chaenomeles spp.) which many folks would designate as non-edible - hard and VERY tart/sour.
There are some 'non-astringent' quince selections that may be more palatable, fresh off the tree, than others.
Yes, you can grown C.oblonga in N.VA - but it is susceptible to any number of plant pathogens, such as cedar(juniper)-quince rust, fireblight, etc. I can't make a recommendation on a specific variety, but other forum participants may be able to do so. I have Aromatnaya and some seedling selections growing, but none have fruited for me as yet.

Can't help with variety selectin, just wanted to mention that I love fresh Quince too. I also love quince preserves and my favorite is quince drink that is very easy to do by just boiling Quince pieces in water with addition of lemon and sugar. If I had a bigger yard, definitely would grow one myself.
Olga

Vintage Virginia Apples, just south of Charlottesville VA, have experience with growing and retailing quince trees in VA. I think their sales of trees are over for this year, but it would be worth emailing them with your questions and they should be able to help you out. I've given a link to their web page below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vintage Virginia Apple

I don't know about that particular quince but if Raintree thinks it will grow in your zone it should work. I have quinces in Maryland but they are not so good to me raw and I cook them.

Quinces are highly susceptible to rust and fireblight as lucky mentions and also the moths will attack the fruits. But with an occasional spray and patrol looking for fireblight damage to cut out, they work out OK.

Scott

Thanks for the response guys. Unfortunatly, with a eastern red ceder behind the fence, planting a quince probably isn't a good idea.

I have a feeling many of the quince varieties being grown in Latin America might be more edible raw than the standard European varieties common in America—not that quince is common, very few people in the U.S.A. grow it anymore.

The best varieties I am aware of for eating raw are 'Aromatnaya' and, in warmer climates, 'Karp's Sweet'. Orange Quince is tolerably edible raw, but not especially good—it is not astringent. When eating raw, quince is best enjoyed very thinly sliced. In Latin America it is common to eat it with sweet chili vinegar sauce and crushed peanuts.

Quince, before it's been cooked, is not a fruit that's going to be appreciated by everyone. The texture is very dense, and most varieties are astringent when uncooked and hard to chew down very much of it.

Cooked, quince changes into a whole different culinary food. Excellent in Apple pies, deserts, spreads, preserves, and even stews. Make sure you're using Cydonia oblonga (fruiting quince) because the small fruits that may appear on ornamental Asian quince (which is a whole different species) do not taste very good.