Quince

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Quince (disambiguation).

Quince
Cydonia oblonga fruit and tree

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Amygdaloideae
Tribe: Maleae
Subtribe: Malinae
Genus: Cydonia
Mill.
Species:
C. oblonga
Binomial name
Cydonia oblonga
Mill.
Synonyms

C. vulgaris

The quince (/ˈkwɪns/; Cydonia oblonga) is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright golden-yellow pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear. Ripe quince fruits are hard, tart, and astringent. They are eaten raw or processed into marmalade, jam, paste (known as quince cheese) or alcoholic beverages.

The quince tree is also grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive pale pink blossoms and other ornamental qualities.[2]

Description

Halved quince, with seeds and oxidation visible

The tree grows 5 to 8 metres (16 to 26 feet) high and 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) wide. The fruit is 70 to 120 mm (3 to 4+1⁄2 in) long and 60 to 90 mm (2+1⁄2 to 3+1⁄2 in) across.

A pale pink quince flower
A light pink quince flower

The immature fruit is green with dense grey-white fine hair, most of which rubs off before maturity in late autumn when the fruit changes colour to yellow with hard, strongly perfumed flesh. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, 60–110 mm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) long, with an entire margin and densely pubescent with fine white hairs. The flowers, produced in spring after the leaves, are white or pink, 50 mm (2 in) across, with five petals.

The seeds contain

hydrolysed and produce hydrogen cyanide, which is a volatile gas. The seeds are toxic only if eaten in large quantities.[3]

Taxonomy

Four other species previously included in the genus Cydonia are now treated in separate

genera. These are Pseudocydonia sinensis and the three flowering quinces of eastern Asia in the genus Chaenomeles. Another unrelated fruit, the bael, is sometimes called the "Bengal quince".[citation needed
]

The modern name originated in the 14th century as a plural of quoyn, via

Greek κυδώνιον μῆλον, kydonion melon "Kydonian
apple".

Cydonia is included in the subfamily Amygdaloideae.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Commercially grown quince
Quince foliage and ripening fruit
Quince flowers
Quince nursery
Quince fruits in tree

Quince is

Pseudocydonia sinensis, or the flowering quinces of genus Chaenomeles, either of which is sometimes used as a culinary substitute.[citation needed
]

History

The fruit was known in the

Mediterranean. Some ancients called the fruit "golden apples".[9]

The Greeks associated it with Kydonia on Crete, as the "Cydonian pome", and Theophrastus, in his Enquiry into Plants, noted that quince was one of many fruiting plants that do not come true from seed.[10]

As a sacred emblem of Aphrodite, a quince figured in a lost poem of Callimachus that survives in a prose epitome: seeing his beloved in the courtyard of the temple of Aphrodite, Acontius plucks a quince from the "orchard of Aphrodite", inscribes its skin and furtively rolls it at the feet of her illiterate nurse, whose curiosity aroused, hands it to the girl to read aloud, and the girl finds herself saying "I swear by Aphrodite that I will marry Acontius". A vow thus spoken in the goddess's temenos cannot be broken.[11] Pliny the Elder mentions "numerous varieties" of quince in his Natural History and describes four.[12]

The season of ripe quinces is brief: the Roman cookbook De re coquinaria of Apicius specifies in attempting to keep quinces, to select perfect unbruised fruits and keep stems and leaves intact, submerged in honey and reduced wine.[13]

Pests and diseases

Quince is used as a food plant by the

brown-tail, Bucculatrix bechsteinella, Bucculatrix pomifoliella, Coleophora cerasivorella, Coleophora malivorella, green pug and winter moth.[citation needed
]

While quince is a hardy shrub, it may develop fungal diseases in hot weather, resulting in premature leaf fall.

medlar, but is typically less damaging than on quince.[15] Cedar-quince rust, caused by Gymnosporangium clavipes, requires two hosts to complete the fungal life cycle, one being a cedar (most commonly a juniper, Juniperus virginiana) and the other a rosacea. Appearing as red excrescence on various parts of the plant, it may affect quinces grown in vicinity of junipers.[16]

Cultivation

Quince is a hardy, drought-tolerant shrub which adapts to many soils of low to medium pH. It tolerates both shade and sun, but sunlight is required to produce larger flowers and ensure fruit ripening. It is a hardy plant that does not require much maintenance, and tolerates years without pruning or major insect and disease problems.[14] It is favored by landscape architects, such as Frederick Law Olmsted in the early 20th century, for its attractive blossoms.[citation needed]

Quince is cultivated on all continents in warm-temperate and temperate climates. It requires a cooler period of the year, with temperatures under 7 °C (45 °F), to flower properly. Propagation is done by

cross-pollinated.[14]

Fruits are typically left on the tree to ripen fully. In warmer climates, it may become soft to the point of being edible, but additional ripening may be required in cooler climates. They are harvested in late autumn, before first frosts.[14]

Quince is also used as rootstock for certain pear cultivars.[14] The resultant chimera is called + Pirocydonia danielii.

In Europe, quinces are commonly grown in central and southern areas where the summers are sufficiently hot for the fruit to fully ripen. They are not grown in large amounts; typically one or two quince trees are grown in a mixed orchard with several apples and other fruit trees. In the 18th-century New England colonies, for example, there was always a quince at the lower corner of the vegetable garden, Ann Leighton notes in records of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Newburyport, Massachusetts.[17]: 243  Charlemagne directed that quinces be planted in well-stocked orchards. Quinces in England are first recorded in about 1275, when Edward I had some planted at the Tower of London.[18]

Cultivars

  • 'Aromatnaya'
  • 'Bereczki'
  • 'Champion'
  • 'Cooke's Jumbo' (syn. 'Jumbo')
  • 'Dwarf Orange'
  • 'Gamboa'
  • 'Iranian'
  • 'kashmiri Bumm tchoont'
  • 'Isfahan'
  • 'Le Bourgeaut'
  • 'Lescovacz'
  • 'Ludovic'
  • 'Maliformis'
  • 'Meeches Prolific'
  • 'Morava'
  • 'Orange' (syn. 'Apple quince')
  • 'Perfume'
  • 'Pineapple'
  • 'Portugal' (syn. 'Lusitanica')
  • 'Shams'
  • 'Siebosa'
  • 'Smyrna'
  • 'Van Deman'
  • 'Vranja' (syn. 'Bereczki')[19]

The cultivars 'Vranja' Nenadovic and 'Serbian Gold' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[20][21]

Production

Quince production – 2021
Country (tonnes)
 Turkey 192,012
 China 111,377
 Uzbekistan 97,536
 Iran 90,564
 Morocco 54,641
World 697,563
Source: UN FAOSTAT[22]

In 2021, world production of quinces was 697,563 tonnes, with Turkey and China accounting for 43% of the world total (table).

Uses

Quinces, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy238 kJ (57 kcal)
15.3 g
Dietary fibre1.9 g
0.1 g
0.4 g
Niacin (B3)
1%
0.2 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
2%
0.081 mg
Vitamin B6
2%
0.04 mg
Folate (B9)
1%
3 μg
Vitamin C
17%
15 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
1%
11 mg
Iron
4%
0.7 mg
Magnesium
2%
8 mg
Phosphorus
1%
17 mg
Potassium
7%
197 mg
Sodium
0%
4 mg
Zinc
0%
0.04 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water84 g
Link to USDA FoodData Central Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[23] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[24]

Quinces are appreciated for their intense aroma, flavour, and tartness. However, most varieties of quince are too hard and tart to be eaten raw. They may be cooked or roasted and used for jams, marmalade, jellies, or pudding.[14]

Culinary use

Some varieties of quince, such as 'Aromatnaya' and 'Kuganskaya' do not require cooking and can be eaten raw.

jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed; pectin levels diminish as the fruit ripens.[26] Long cooking with sugar turns the flesh of the fruit red due to the presence of pigmented anthocyanins.[27]

The strong flavor means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the apple sauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince. The term "marmalade", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from marmelo, the Portuguese word for this fruit.[28][29][30]

Quince cheese

manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds. In Chile, boiled quince is popular in desserts such as the murta con membrillo that combines Chilean guava with quince.[citation needed
]

Nutrition

A raw quince is 84% water, 15%

Daily Value), with no other micronutrients
in significant percentage of the Daily Value (table).

Alcoholic drink

In the

ABV, or twice, producing an approximately 60% ABV liquor. The two distillates may be mixed or diluted with distilled water to obtain the final product, containing 42–43% ABV.[31][32]
Traditionally, it is not aged in wooden casks.

In the

digestif
.

In Carolina in 1709, John Lawson allowed that he was "not a fair judge of the different sorts of Quinces, which they call Brunswick, Portugal and Barbary", but he noted "of this fruit they make a wine or liquor which they call Quince-Drink, and which I approve of beyond any that their country affords, though a great deal of cider and perry is there made, The Quince-Drink most commonly purges."[33]

Ornamental

Quince is one of the most popular species for deciduous

Japanese quince
, native to Eastern Asia.

Cultural associations

  • In "El licenciado Vidriera" by Miguel de Cervantes, the protagonist develops the delusion that he is made of glass after he eats a poisoned quince.[citation needed]
  • In Turkey, the expression ayvayı yemek (literally "to eat the quince") is used as a derogatory term indicating any unpleasant situation or a malevolent incident to avoid. This usage is likened to the rather bitter aftertaste of a quince fruit inside the mouth.[citation needed]
  • When a baby is born in the Balkans, a quince tree is planted as a symbol of fertility, love and life.[14]
  • Ancient Greek poets (Ibycus and Aristophanes, for example) used quinces (kydonia) as a mildly ribald term for teenage breasts.
  • In Plutarch's Lives, Solon is said to have decreed that "bride and bridegroom shall be shut into a chamber, and eat a quince together."[34]

Gallery

  • Still-life of quinces by Vincent van Gogh (1887), Albertinum, Dresden
    Still-life of quinces by Vincent van Gogh (1887), Albertinum, Dresden
  • Closeup of Russian 'Aromatnaya' quinces
    Closeup of Russian 'Aromatnaya' quinces
  • Ripe Constantinople apple quinces from the Vogelsberg
    Ripe Constantinople apple quinces from the
    Vogelsberg

See also

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T61611928A61611931.en
    . Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  2. JSTOR 42955445. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Cydonia oblonga Quince PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org.
  4. S2CID 16578516. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2 October 2011. [Referring to the subfamily by the name "Spiraeoideae"].
  5. ISBN 978-0-19-954906-1
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1405332965
    .
  7. ^ Lauffenburger, Olivier (2006). "supurgillu". The Hittite Grammar Homepage, Akkadian Dictionary. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 – via premiumwanadoo.com.
  8. Mossad HaRav Kook ed.). Jerusalem.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  9. OCLC 560560606
    .
  10. ^ Theophrastus. "Quince produces wild quince". Enquiry.
  11. ISBN 978-0-8142-0937-0
    .
  12. ^ Pliny the Elder. Natural History. pp. xv.10.11.
  13. ^ Lacus Curtius. Apicius.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59884-775-8
    .
  15. ^ "Quince leaf blight". Royal Horticultural Society. 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Cedar-Quince Rust". RMissouri Botanical Garden. 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. ISBN 978-0-8702-3531-3
    .
  18. ^ Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hugh (7 October 2011). "Quince recipes". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Agroforestry news quince cydonia oblonga". agroforestry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2006.
  20. ^ "Cydonia oblonga 'Vranja' Nenadovic". Royal Horticultural Society. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Cydonia oblonga 'Serbian Gold' (F)". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Quince production in 2021; Crops/World regions/Production total from picklists". UN Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database. 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  23. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  24. PMID 30844154.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  25. ^ Online Database: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  26. ISBN 978-1-9209-8900-2
    .
  27. ISBN 978-0-684-80001-1
    .
  28. ISBN 0-8122-1727-6
    .
  29. ^ Harper, Douglas (2001). "Marmalade". Online Etymology Dictionary – via Dictionary.com.
  30. ^ Ferraz, Rafaela (5 December 2018). "Why Portugal's Marmelada Tastes Nothing Like Marmalade". Gastro Obscura. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  31. ^ "Dunjevača izuzetne arome i ukusa" [Quince brandy of exceptional aroma and taste] (in Serbian). Poljoprivreda.info. 22 November 2003. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  32. ^ "Kako da napravite kvalitetnu dunjevaču" [How to make a quality quince] (in Serbian). Agropress. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  33. ^ Lawson, John (1709). A New Voyage to Carolina. Quoted in Leighton (1986), p. 243
  34. ^ Wikisource: Lives by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden: Solon

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Quince".
Look up quince in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quince&oldid=1218824613"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Quince. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy