Orange Quince
 

This morning I harvested the last of the Quinces, which will soon end up in all manner of holiday foods. Here's a photo of a typical Orange Quince (a cultivar of Cydonia oblonga), weighing in at 432 grams (15 oz).

Re: Orange Quince
 

Last week I picked my only one Russian quince,can you tell me the best way to eat it?Raw or cooked?

Re: Orange Quince
 

Tropicman, I cook mine. Just halved it, cored it, and put a spoonful of brown sugar in the center with a touch of cinnamon. Tasted very similar to baked apple, maybe because that is how I fix a baked apple too! :ha:

~JaNan

Re: Orange Quince
 

I grew up eating quinces both fresh and cooked. Either way you'll need to slice it -- unless you are one of the raw people who like the taste of the skin.

I've only met a few people who also like fresh sliced Quince fruit by itself. On the otherhand, there are Quince affectionados who like it fresh in combination with other foods in the same way you might use apple or pear -- for example Quince Waldorf salad, fruit salad, on ice cream, with cheese, etc.

Using it as a cooking ingredient like you would other pomes has a more wide appeal, and in the immediate case it will be in our Turkey stuffing. In restaurants, sometimes it is the secret ingredient in compotes.

And for you fruit historians -- the word that translates to "apple" was used in the Egyptian and Roman Empire to describe Quince fruits until around 200-400 C.E., thus the biblical apple was very likely a Quince!

Re: Orange Quince
 

Thanks Jana,thats the way I cook my butter squash !
And Richard thank you for the history lesson!

Re: Orange Quince
 

I have the Russian cultivar which is advertised as tasting so good you can eat it raw

BUT

like Richard infered most people would not agree. Mine will not fruit for a couple more years. I sucessfully detached a sucker which is growing well so if in a couple of years I just can't live without more of them I'll have rootstock ready to graft. LOL

I also read that the rootstock is used for dwarfing pears. Anyone have knowledge of this?

Check out these historic recipies.

Quinces Recipes

One near the end suggest hollowed Quinces stuffed with bone marrow, sugar and cinnamon baked on puff pastry. Y'all try that and get back to me. Actually I'd try it if someone cooked it up. I'll bet it is very rich.

Richard do you have a picture of your tree? I was told they grow rather gnarly. How big and old is yours?

Re: Orange Quince
 

I have 30 to 40 in 15-gallon (55 liter) pots as nursery stock. One is going in the ground this spring. The fruits are all from the nursery stock plants.

True Quince can be grown either as a shrub (a large one) or a tree. They do sucker, so if you have a grafted variety that is growing as a shrub you need to double check once or twice per year that the "suckers" are coming from above the graft.

I prefer to train pear and quince into dense, inverted vase shape. Think of it as a multi-crotch tree with the first crotch very low -- essentially a V-shaped shrub with flat-top at about 7-8 feet (2 meters) high.

Re: Orange Quince
 

Richard,

Many thanks. I'm planting mine this weekend. It is a grafted plant and I will watch for below graft suckers. The last one I removed was about three inches long and had several developed roots about two inches long. I planted it and it has prospered. I plan to graft to this if I end up wanting a second Quince tree.

Richard why do you have so many? Are they that popular?

I will follow your recommendations as a multi limb framework is what I want and the ability to top it at a reasonable height. Thanks again.

Re: Orange Quince
 

Last year I ordered 25 each of the Smyrna and Orange Quinces which arrived bare root in December. I think I sold about 15 total this last year, and happily I have inventory for next year too. I think of Quince as essential inventory, because nearly everyone who comes looking for it is a gardener of fruit trees and is coming back for more trees -- and sometimes a few dozen more.