Quince: The Answer to the $5 Question

Last week I sent out an email to the Buying Club along with a picture and posed the question: What type of tree did I plant at the very top of the Apple orchard? 

 The hints were: it's not more apples or more peaches and not pears either.

I got a lot of really great answers.  Figs were a good guess...as were plums and cherries.

But the answer is....drum roll....Quince trees! 

photo credit: Cut To the Plate

Quince has struck me as something hard to find...near impossible actually.  It's something that Grandma's are familiar with but somewhere along the way, it was forgotten.  I went looking for it at WholeFoods this winter.  I asked a guy stocking a shelf with tomatoes if they had any Quince.  He, with a mocking tone...a frustrated tone, like how dare I ask for something "out of season," said, "Oh no! It's not quince season at all!"
My response out loud: "Oh I know that it's not in season around here but I just thought you might have some from somewhere else."
Him: "No, if we do get it, it's during quince season in October...and we only get it once or twice.
My response in my head: "Dude, you're giving me a mocking tone about asking for quince in December while you're standing here putting out tomatoes....they sure aren't in season around here either."

So instead of searching high and low for something no one around here grows I decided to take matters into my own hands and grow it!

Quince Facts: 

• same family as Apples and Pears
• white flesh turns pink when cooked {how fun is that!} 
• Best and most widely used when cooked
• used in jams, jellies, stirred into morning oatmeal and quince paste as well as savory dishes with pork 

It will take a few years before I start getting mature fruit but here are some recipe and cooking links to get you excited: 

How to Cook Quince from TheKitchn

Roast Quince and Pickled Quince

Quince Recipes

Quince Danish {quite a few quince recipes on this blog}