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| Quince fruit tree at The Orchard |
Q. My family has for many years had access to wild
abandoned Quince bushes “trees”. They apparently were part of an old homestead
in our native Orinda, east S.F. bay area. We have since moved from there, and
see that you list this fruit as a tree that may survive here in the Vegas area
with the proper soil. We have not been able to find the fruit available
anywhere, it seems to be one of the forgotten. Apparently it is popular in the
mediterranian to some degree. Any help finding a source to pick or buy would be
greatly appreciated. There are seeds available though, and growing our own is
looking like our only option. My mother lives here in Vegas, I am her son and
now reside in Humboldt county “Willow Creek”.
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| Quince fruit |
A. I have brought quince into the valley from Dave Wilson
nursery and they are hard to sell. Not many people know about them and even
fewer know what to do with them. I see that Bay Laurel nursery, an online
nursery, carries quince; all three commonly recommended, orange, pineapple and
Smyrna. Any will grow here in las vegas with few problems except iron cholorsis
(leaf yellowing with green veins you use chelated iron in the soil in January
EDDHA type or 138 Fe) and borer problems so whitewash them. Quince is popular
in Mediterranean and some Arabic/Persian cultures where it is used in cooking a
lot. Makes some great candies, infuses wonderful aromas into foods and makes
great jams, jellies and compotes. Yes, improve the soil at planting time with
composted manure and use organic surface mulch as I recommend and it performs
well here with high quality fruit.
I seriously doubt quince will breed true from seed.
I discovered recently that there are actually fresh eating quinces:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-quince28-2009oct28,0,5254414.story
Here is some more fresh eating quinces that can be ordered online.
http://www.onegreenworld.com/index.php?cPath=1_56
Quinces were of little interest to me. Short season (4-6 weeks). A pome fruit that seemed to substitute for apples in recipes, but could not be eaten off a tree fresh. For cooking only. What is the point?
But then an inquiry on a fruit message board made me look at my assumptions. It turns out there are some varieties sweet enough to eat off the tree and so I thought I would bring them to everyone's attention.
All are yellow and produce fruit around the same time.
Aromatnaya [alternate source]
http://www.onegreenworld.com//product_info.php?cPath=1_56&products_id=1064
http://www.raintreenursery.com/Aromatnaya_Russian_Quince_Quince.html
Disease resistant. Russina Prolific. Described as lemony or pineapple flavor. Needs to be picked and ripened inside like a pear.
Karp's Sweet
http://www.raintreenursery.com/Karps_Sweet_Quince.html
Peru. Good for warmer climates.
Kaunching
http://www.onegreenworld.com//product_info.php?cPath=1_56&products_id=1067
Central Asia.
Kuganskaya
http://www.onegreenworld.com//product_info.php?cPath=1_56&products_id=1069
Caucasus
http://www.raintreenursery.com/Quince.html
Many Hispanic people here in Abq but are from Chihuahua, MX know quince trees, but few are available in our nurseries, anymore.
I love cooking Quince with lamb but I never find it.
Look at groworganic aka Peaceful Valley website or Bay Laurel nursery online… grow organic has both pineapple and smyrna varieties. Bay Laurel has all three…orange, pineapple and smyrna. They are hard to find because they are in such low demand. I have grown both pineapple and orange quince but never smyrna. I am putting all three in an orchard I am consulting on this season. The biggest complaint I get from people from the Middle East is the lack of aroma from pineapple and orange varieties. I wait and harvest them when fully ripe. I judge this by grabbing the fruit still attached to the tree, turning it so I can smell it from the calyx (flower) end and taking a strong whif with my nose on the calyx. If it has a strong aroma then I will harvest it otherwise I leave it on the tree longer to tree ripen it.
http://www.groworganic.com/fruit-nut-trees/bareroot-trees/quince-trees.html
https://baylaurelnursery.com/quince.html
I love cooking Quince with lamb but I never find it.
I love cooking Quince with lamb but I never find it.