Quince

Having grown up familiar with quince, I am always somewhat amused when I see articles intending to reintroduce this fruit to American gardeners.  But I admit it's true, the quince is not a fruit that's very familiar to the backyard orchardist.  If it's known at all it is mostly for it's abundance of pectin and the wonderful jellies you can make from it.   A hundred years ago, every good cook used quince pectin to set their jelly.  Now we use commercial pectin, if we make jelly at all.  So why re-introduce the quince?

Quince fruits are often described as apple like or pear like.  They are actually in the rose family, (genera Chaenomeles and Cydonia).  An ancient fruit, it comes to us originally from Asia, probably northern Persia, and was eventually naturalized in the Mediterranean area.  It's been speculated that the apple in the Garden of Eden was actually a quince.   In the Tudor and Stuart eras of England, quince marmalade was considered an aphrodisiac.

The fruit looks to me like a fuzzy, knobby apple that ripens in color from a pale green to a pale golden  yellow. The flesh has an almost gritty texture and the taste is tart, even when ripe.  Most texts on quince call the taste astringent.  When stored for a few weeks the grittiness diminishes and the flavor continues sweetening, although I don't find fresh quince inedible.  If you are like me and enjoy tart fruits, go ahead and try a raw quince.  I've eaten them green and enjoyed them.   Most all varieties have a wonderful fruity  fragrance.   Quince have been used as draw sachets and even room deodorizers.  Be forewarned, a quince kept in a drawer will eventually rot and take on a whole new fragrance.

Some of you may be familiar with the flowering quince, genus Chaenomeles.  These bushes are still widely grown throughout North America.  This is a close cousin, but the fruit is not of the quality you will get on a quince tree.  The trees generally are small, 15 - 20 feet, with crooked branches that give character to its silhouette.  You can expect about a bushel of fruit per tree.  The trees self pollinate with white blossoms resembling large apple blossoms.  Fruit set usually occurs within 2-4 years.

Quince are generally propagated by cuttings or layers.  Quince are often used as dwarfing root stock and have proven to be quite hardy.  They prefer a rich soil in a moist area, but they will tolerate lesser

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