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Description:
The Quince is native to warm-temperate southwest Asia in the Caucasus region. It is a small deciduous tree, growing 5-8 m tall and 4-6 m wide. It is related to apples and pears, and like them has a pome fruit, which is bright golden yellow when mature, pear-shaped, 7-12 cm long and 6-9 cm broad. The fruit has hard flesh that is strongly perfumed. The leaves are simple, dark green, 6-11 cm long. The flowers, produced in spring after the leaves, are white or pink, 5 cm across, with five petals. The fruit was known already to the Akkadians more than 4000 years ago. The Latin genus name originates from Greek kydonion malon (Kydonian Apple) referring to ancient port of Kydonia, now Khania, in Crete, where the Greeks grafted from a superior strain. Cultivation of quince may have preceded apple culture. Among the ancient Greeks, the quince was a ritual offering at weddings, for it had come from the Levant with Aphrodite and remained sacred to her. It was a quince that Paris awarded Aphrodite. It was for a golden quince that Atalanta paused in her race. The Romans also used quinces; the Roman cookbook of Apicius gives recipes for stewing quince with honey. This interesting fruit can also be eaten cooked or raw. However, most varieties of quince are too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw unless 'bletted' (softened by frost and subsequent decay). Quince is an excellent source of vitamin C. It can be used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or it may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed. The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavour. The term marmalade, originally meaning a quince jam, derives from the Portuguese word for this fruit marmelo. In Iran and other parts of the Middle East, the dried pips of the fruit are used to treat sore throat and to relieve cough. The pips are soaked in water; the viscous product is then drunk like cough medicine. It is commonly used for children, as it is alcohol free and 100% natural. In Europe, quinces are commonly grown in central and southern areas where the summers are sufficiently hot for the fruit to fully ripen. Used as a rootstock for grafted plants, quince has the property of dwarfing the growth of pears and of forcing them to produce more precociously. Quince is used in modern ornamental gardens as an interesting contribution to mixed shrub borders or as a specimen for example in lawn where it attracts attention all year round. In winter it displays its regular round shape with a symmetrical branch structure, in spring it offers a sight of pleasing large flowers and in autumn finally becomes a focal point due to its abundant and useful golden fruit.