Quince is a fruit that was highly prized by ancient civilizations, and it probably originated near the antique city of Smyrna, Turkey or in Persia. The history of the quince shows it in many Mediterranean areas. Quince appears widely in artistic drawings, as wall paintings and mosaics at the lost city of Pompeii, in Italy. The ancient Greeks had developed and grafted quince of exceptional quality. In recent years agricultural scientists have hybridized a fruit with a softer texture and a juicier flesh.
Some modern Bible translations claim that Adam tasted, in the Garden of Eden, the fruit of an apple… but actually it is more likely that it was a quince since apples came to the region at a much later date.
The history of the quince and it’s benefits are well documented but everything changes. Research scientists have hybridized many new cultivars of quince. These new varieties surpass the characteristics of the wild, seedling quince trees.
From it’s origins in the ancient cities of the Mediterranean, this commercially grown hybrid is now produced widely. It is especially popular in the supermarkets in the Deep South of the USA. Migrant Mexican workers buy the fruit to satisfy their Latin palate appetites.
Modern Quince Varieties
Hybrid quince cultivars are usually yellow when ripe; however, the new “orange” quince is, well, orange. The fruit when ripe emits an agreeable fruit fragrance and can be eaten raw. The tree blooms during April and ripens in July through September, depending on which cultivar was planted. Sometimes Smyrna trees bear fruit the very first year. The leaves resemble apple leaves and the large flowers are sometimes white but more commonly pink.
The surface of the fruit is generally woolly like a peach except for the Smyrna, which is slick and waxy. Many jelly and jam makers prefer to pick the fruit just before ripening when the color begins to change from green to yellow. This seals in the acid content.
Quince hybrid cultivars grow 10 to 15 feet tall because they are grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock. However, the species Cydonia oblonga has grown to 35 feet in California. Many early settlers of the United States planted the seed of the European quince, Cydonia oblonga, in their gardens. Some of these seedlings produced quince fruit the size of pears, and others grew fruit to the remarkable size of a cantaloupe. These fruits were used mainly to add a wonderful fragrance inside their rooms from the long-lasting quality of the fruit. The quince fruit was also used to make jellies, jams, pies, pastries, and because of the pectin value to include with other canned items.
Growing Requirements
When you are choosing a tree for your garden make sure you check whether you are getting one of the dwarf grafted ones or not. The quince trees and fruit are remarkably free of diseases and insect pests. The trees are very adaptable to a wide range of soil types and temperatures, and readily withstand cold damage in Zones 5-9. They can survive being subjected to low temperatures of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the quince that is grown from seed is nationally used as a dwarfing rootstock for other fruit trees by wholesale nurserymen.
You will appreciate the many qualities of the quince in your garden all year. The flowers of the quince tree appear in late spring after the leaves form, and the blossoms are usually pinkish-white with a pleasant fragrance. After the fruit begins to turn yellow in the fall, a delicious aroma is emitted from the ripening process. This is unequaled by any other fruit in terms of the long period that the fragrance lasts, and the delicate quality of the aroma. The flowers of the quince tree are self-fertile and require no cross-pollination by bees and ants. The seedling, ungrafted quince is very different from the flowering dwarf quince, even though they both produce large fruit.
Quince fruit has been shown to contain healthy minerals such as potassium, potash, and phosphorus, and is high in Vitamins C and B2. It is an excellent addition to a healthy diet. Is there anything better than eating fruit from your own garden? I think not.
History Of The Medicinal Uses Of Quince
The medicinal qualities of quince have been appreciated since ancient times. Shakespeare wrote that quince was the “stomach’s comforter.” Culpepper called it a “mild astringent stomachic medicine of efficacy in sickness, vomiting, eructions and purgings”.
The seeds of the quince produce a mucilaginous substance. If you boil two teaspoons of quince seeds in a pint of boiling water for 8-10 minutes you get a solution that looks a bit like the white of an egg. Strain this liquid and it is good for soothing the gastro intestinal tract. You can take it as a treatment for diarrhoea.
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Quince has many uses in your kitchen, such as pies, jellies, jams, marmalade, flavourings, ice creams, and cakes.
Grafted quince trees are reliable producers of high-quality fruit with little need for care or attention. They will survive low temperatures in every state of the USA except Alaska. Try one of these collector type grafted trees for your garden. You will find that the history of the quince as a valuable addition to a garden is definitely warranted.
