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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Quince
| image = Quince flowers.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Cydonia oblonga'' flowers
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Maloideae]]
| genus = '''''Cydonia'''''
| species = '''''C. oblonga'''''
| binomial = ''Cydonia oblonga''
| binomial_authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
}}
The '''Quince''' (''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' and 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, related to [[apple]]s and [[pear]]s, 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 immature fruit is green, with dense grey-white pubescence which mostly (but not all) rubs off before maturity in late [[autumn]] when the fruit changes colour to yellow with hard flesh that is strongly perfumed. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternately arranged, simple, 6-11 cm long, with an entire margin and densely pubescent with fine white hairs. The [[flower]]s, produced in spring after the leaves, are white or pink, 5 cm across, with five petals.
Quince is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Brown-tail]], ''[[Bucculatricidae|Bucculatrix bechsteinella]]'', ''[[Bucculatricidae|Bucculatrix pomifoliella]]'', ''[[Coleophora|Coleophora cerasivorella]]'', ''[[Coleophora|Coleophora malivorella]]'', [[Green Pug]] and [[Winter Moth]].
Four other species previously included in the genus ''Cydonia'' are now treated in separate genera. These are the Chinese Quince ''[[Pseudocydonia|Pseudocydonia sinensis]]'', a native of China, and the three flowering quinces of eastern Asia in the genus ''[[Chaenomeles]]''. Another unrelated fruit, the [[Bael]], is sometimes called the "Bengal Quince".
==Origins==
[[Image:2005pear_and_quince.PNG|thumb|left|Pear and quince output in 2005]]
The fruit was known to the Akkadians, who called it ''supurgillu'' [http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/cuneiform.languages/dictionary/dosearch.php?searchkey=2853&language=id]; Arabic سفرجل ''safarjal'' = "quinces" (collective [[plural]]). The modern name originated in the 14th century as a plural of ''quoyn'', via [[Old French]] ''cooin'' from [[Latin]] ''cotoneum malum'' / ''cydonium malum'', ultimately from [[Classical Greek language|Greek]] ''kydonion malon'' "[[Kydonia]]n apple" (in the figurative sense, similar to ''pomodoro'' - [[Italian language|Italian]] word for [[tomato]] literally meaning "apple of gold", ''pomme de terre'' - the [[French language|French]] word for [[potato]], literally meaning "apple of the ground", and the classical "golden apple"). The quince tree is native to [[Iran]], [[Armenia]], [[Turkey]], [[Albania]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], [[Greece]], and [[Bulgaria]], but the Greeks [[graft]]ed from a superior strain from ancient Kydonia, now [[Khania]], a port in [[Crete]], whence both the common and better-preserved genus name. The [[Lydia]]n name for the fruit was ''kodu''.
Cultivation of quince may have preceded apple culture, and many references translated to "apple", such as the fruit in ''[[Song of Solomon]]'', may have been to a quince. 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. Plutarch reports that a Greek bride would nibble a quince to perfume her kiss before entering the bridal chamber, "in order that the first greeting may not be disagreeable nor unpleasant" (''Roman Questions'' 3.65). It was a quince that [[Paris (mythology)|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]], and even combining them, unexpectedly for us, with [[Leek (vegetable)|leek]]s. [[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned the one variety, Mulvian quince, that could be eaten raw. [[Columella]] mentioned three, one of which, the "golden apple" that may have been the paradisal fruit in the [[Hesperides|Garden of the Hesperides]], has donated its name in Italian to the tomato, ''pomodoro''. This interesting fruit can also be eaten cooked or raw. They are a good source of vitamin c.
==Cultivation and uses==
[[Image:Cydonia.jpg|thumb|left|Quince foliage and ripening fruit]]
Quince is frost hardy and requires a cold period below 7 °C to flower properly. The tree is self fertile however yield can benefit from cross fertilization. The fruit can be left on the tree to ripen further which softens the fruit to the point where it can be eaten raw in warmer climates, but should be picked before the first frosts.
Most varieties of quince are too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw unless '[[bletting|bletted]]' (softened by [[frost]]). They are used to make [[jam]], [[Jelly (fruit preserves)|jelly]] and [[quince pudding]], or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed. The fruit turns to reddish orange color once it has cooked. The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavour. Adding a diced quince to applesauce will enhance the taste of the applesauce with the chunks of firmer tarter quince. The term "[[marmalade]]", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] word for this fruit ''marmelo''.<ref>Wilson, C. Anne. ''The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History and Its Role in the World Today (Together with a Collection of Recipes for Marmalades and Marmalade Cookery)'', University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Revised Edition 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1727-6</ref> The fruit, like so many others, can be used to make a type of [[fruit wine|wine]]. [[Image:Quince-israel.jpg|thumb|right|Quince]]
In Spain, the quince or "membrillo" as it is called, is cooked into a firm reddish paste and is eaten with [[manchego cheese]]. The sweet and floral notes of ''carne de membrillo'' (quince meat) contrast nicely with the tanginess of the cheese.<ref>[http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/quincepastemembrillo.htm Membrillo paste] from Gourmet Slueth</ref> Quince juice from organic farming is available in [[Germany]] and its pleasant taste mixes well with other fruit juices. This is where the saying "A quince for you, a quince for me, quinces we shall eat," comes from. In Lebanon, it is called "Sfarjel" and also used to make jam. In Iran quince is called (Beh)and is used raw or in stews and jam. Also seeds are used as a remedy for pneumonia and lung disease.
Elsewhere 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. [[Charlemagne]] directed that quinces be planted in well-stocked orchards. Quinces are mentioned for the first time in an English text in the later 13th century, though cultivation in [[England]] is not very successful due to inadequate summer heat to ripen the fruit fully. They were also introduced to the New World, but have become rare in [[North America]] due to their susceptibility to [[fireblight]] disease caused by the [[bacterium]] ''Erwinia amylovora''. They are still widely grown in [[Argentina]], [[Chile]] and [[Uruguay]]. Almost all of the quinces in North American specialty markets come from Argentina. A variety of quince, which is grown in the Middle East, does not require cooking and is often eaten raw.
In Malta, a jam is made from the fruit (gamm ta' l-isfargel). According to local tradition, a tea-spoon of the jam dissolved in a cup of boiling water relieves intestinal discomfort.
The quince, used as a [[rootstock]] for [[grafting|grafted]] plants, has the property of dwarfing the growth of [[pear]]s, of forcing them to produce more precociously, and relatively more fruit-bearing branches, instead of vegetative growth, and of accelerating the maturity of the fruit.
In parts of Afghanistan, the quince seeds are collected and boiled and then ingested to combat pneumonia.
In [[Chile]] the quince or "membrillo" as it is called, is cooked into a reddish jello-like block (dulce membrillo), or firm reddish paste. It is then eaten in sandwiches. Boiled quince is also popular in desserts such as the [[Murta con membrillo]] that combines [[Ugni molinae]] with quince.
In Bosnia the quince is made into brandy
==Literary associations==
* The film ''[[El Sol del Membrillo]]'' (Quince Tree of the Sun; Dream of Light) directed by [[Víctor Erice]] in 1992 is a documentary about a painter, Antonio López García, who spends September through December painting a quince tree in his garden.
* In an episode ''[[The Simpsons]]'', "Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part 1", [[Mr. Burns]] and [[Waylon Smithers]] end up eating an entire box of chocolates in one sitting, leaving behind and discarding only one piece: the sour quince log.
* In [[Edward Lear]]'s famous poem "[[The Owl and the Pussycat]]" the protagonists "dined on [[Mincemeat|mince]] and slices of quince, Which they ate with a [[runcible spoon]]".
* In the movie ''[[White Men Can't Jump]]'', [[Rosie Perez]]'s character Gloria Clemente was on ''[[Jeopardy!]]'', and "quince" was the response to "Adam and Eve dined on this forbidden fruit".
* In the play ''[[Cataplana]]'', an aging antagonist named Ari attacks his partner, Linda, over her claim that he had a pear tree on his property—when in fact it was a quince.
* [[Paul Muldoon]]'s poem, "Lunch with [[Pancho Villa]]" contains the line, "The quince tree I forgot to mention,"
* In the book, ''Ten Thousand Sorrows'', by Elizabeth Kim, on page 5 line 7 Quince tea is drunk alongside a meal.
* In the musical ''[[Pippin (musical)|Pippin]]'', Catherine makes Pippin a quince [[pudding]] [[flambé]]. It is this extension of domesticity that is the final impetus for Pippin to leave her.
* In [[Plutarch]]'s [[Parallel_Lives|''Lives'']], [[Solon]] is said to have decreed that "bride and bridegroom shall be shut into a chamber, and eat a quince together."<ref>Plutarch ''Solon'' 20 [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives/Solon#20]</ref>
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.hort.cornell.edu/extension/commercial/fruit/mfruit/quince.html Cornell article]
*[http://www.uga.edu/fruit/quince.htm University of Georgia article]
*[http://www.bartleby.com/87/r1813.html Quince Marmalade Recipe]
*[http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch51.html Quince History]
*[http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/ansample.html Quince information including nutrition]
*[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v397/SidJamesMonroe/Quince-Smyrna.jpg Photo of a Quince Monker]
{{Commons|Cydonia oblonga}}
[[Category:Accessory fruit]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia]]
[[Category:Maloideae]]