Read here about Common Quince, Cydonia oblonga, its medicinal properties, other uses and place in folklore.
Common Quince originates in Iran, Turkey and possibly Greece, but became well established across much of Europe. The botanical name is derived from the Greek: the fruit is known in Greece as a Kydonian Apple. Kydonia was an important town in Crete in Minoan times (3000BC -1450 BC) and a major port for what was then the dominant trading power. It’s therefore quite likely the produce distributed from Kydonia across the whole of the Mediterranean area would have included quince.
Britain, not being a highly developed nation at the time, had to wait for quince to arrive later, probably with the Romans. Even so, the first written record of quince in Britain is dated 1275, when quince trees were planted in the garden of the Tower of London at the request of King Edward I.
Quince is one of the easier fruit trees to grow yourself, as it is not often prey to the commoner fruit tree problems. If left to its own devices it will become a large, spreading tree, but it can be trained on an espalier against a wall, or even grown in a pot. Because they have a long growing season, Quince trees need protection from both spring frosts and winter chills, so an ideal place to plant them is against a south or south-west facing wall.
The Quince has pretty pale pink blossom, followed by aromatic fruit – these start out pale yellow and gradually become golden, ripe to pick in October or November. The fruit, if undamaged, can be stored in a cool dry place for a few months, wrapped in paper and placed so they don’t touch each other, just as you would with apples.
Once common here, Quince sadly fell out of favour, like many other orchard fruits, possibly because hand-picking is labour intensive and expensive; and possibly because people grew used to supermarket shelves full of identical, mass-cultivated, glossy-skinned fruit.
Luckily, in the 21st century, there has been a revival of interest in ‘heritage’ fruit, as ‘buying local’ and growing-your-own have become fashionable and desirable, along with a wider recognition of the merits of fruit with blemishes and odd shapes. Alongside this, people want novelty in their cooking and eating, trying new – and very old – recipes. Quince certainly features in the latter, across many years and locations. As a jelly, or a paste, so highly scented and jewel-like in colour, it was found on banquet tables from the ancient era, through the Middle Ages, into Victorian times, and in southern Europe it is still a relatively common preserve.
A member of the large Rosaceae plant family, the Common Quince is related to the shrub known as Japanese Quince, (Chaenomeles japonica), that is often grown as an ornamental for its striking mass of vivid red blooms. We have specimens of both plants in our garden, and you can find out about Japanese Quince here.
Medicinal Uses
The quince fruit, though virtually inedible raw because it is so bitter, has been used throughout history for three main medicinal purposes: as an anti-inflammatory; for respiratory relief; and as a general health-giving tonic.
In some countries, especially those where quince grows as a native plant, it has also traditionally been used to treat digestive tract complaints including kidney stones and gastric ulcers; as an anti-emetic and to treat diarrhoea; and for urinary tract conditions and haemorrhoids.
Preparations of quince have also frequently been prescribed for the treatment of coughs and colds: for example, the Japanese use quince juice, ginger root and sugar to make a cough medicine.
Modern scientific research has discovered numerous components in quince that have potential health benefits. Anti-oxidants in quinces include flavonols, that help to reduce inflammation and protect against heart disease. Other properties may assist in warding off damage to the gut caused by inflammatory disease of the bowel, and ulcerative colitis.
The fruit contains fibre, vitamins and minerals that are useful elements in any healthy diet.
Other Uses
Culinary
Sometimes very ripe fruit is soft enough to squeeze, but fruit kept in the fridge will be more likely to soften, so the juice can be used as an alternative to lemon juice: it is reported to contain more vitamin C than lemon.
Ancient Greeks and Romans used to preserve quince in honey, giving the fruit the name melimelum, from the Greek word for honey. (Quince in honey sounds rather good to me too!) The Spanish word for quince is similar, membrillo; and the Portuguese name marmelo is directly responsible for our word marmalade: it was originally a quince product, and later versions would have to specify the fruit content, as in ‘orange marmalade’. Quince is ideal for preserves, because it is high in pectin, the principal setting ingredient.
The Japanese use quince to make a fruit ‘tea’, and with sugar and alcohol to make a liqueur called Karinshu.
Perfume
The fruit is very fragrant, and the scent lasts long enough for a bowl of the fruit to act as a pleasant room freshener.
You could even keep one in the car…
Myth and Magic
Many people may have first come across quince in Edward Lear’s poem The Owl and the Pussycat, describing the wedding feast: “they dined on mince, and slices of quince…” It was written in 1871 when the fruit would not have seemed as unusual as it does today. Lear was also probably familiar with the classical tradition that a bride and groom should eat a quince together to ensure fertility
Scholars have more recently looked at the ancient legends that talk of ‘golden apples’. Since most apples aren’t gold in colour, whereas quinces are, and many of the stories originate in areas where quince is native, (and had to be translated from ancient languages), it is really very likely that these ‘apples’ were actually quince fruit. The image shows the 2020 harvest from the Bath House & Physic Garden quince tree.
The story of the Judgment of Paris tells of a wedding to which all the gods were invited, except Eris the goddess of Discord, who in revenge threw a golden apple among the guests with an inscription ‘To the Most Beautiful’. This act of spite led to Paris having to decide between three goddesses – and, ultimately, to the Trojan War, which we needn’t go into here! And then there was the 11th Task of Heracles, to fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides, originally presented to Zeus and Hera at their wedding… and from another ancient culture, we could consider the ‘apple’ of the tree of good and evil, in the garden of Eden. There are also examples of classical statues and other art works where the ‘apple’ is distinctly knobbly and shaped more like a quince.
For those who would like to pursue this trip through the history, legend and poetry of the quince, we recommend https://nicmillerstales.com/tag/mythology-of-the-quince/
and
https://prospectbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Quinces_extract.pdf
Acknowledgements – thanks to the following for much information
www.rhs.org
www.drschar.com
www.permaculture.co.uk
www.practicalplants.org
www.healthline.com
www.theenglishgarden.com
www.nicmillerstales.com
www.1historyofgreekfood.wordpress.com
www.secretgardening.wordpress.com
www.sciencedirect.com(extracts from academic papers on medicinal properties)
