A Neighbourhood Quince Quest
Dec 11th, 2009 by Laura Reinsborough
In the spring of last year a friend pointed out a blossoming quince bush just a few blocks from where I live. “Quince?” I asked. I had never heard of the fruit before, let alone be able to recognize its blossoms. Nor did I know the first thing about how to harvest the fruit or prepare it. But learning something new about food in the city is the premise upon which Not Far From The Tree was started. At our very first pick in August 2007, I had never picked fruit from a tree before and now the organization has picked over 11,000 lbs collectively!
This fall I noticed a few fruits hidden amidst the foliage of this unassuming frontyard shrub. At the same time, I had bought myself a book about preparing fruit and encountered a recipe for quince tart tatin. While we don’t yet have any quince trees registered with Not Far From The Tree, I figured this could be a good experiment to see if it was worth actively soliciting quince tree owners to sign up their trees. Plus I had a dinner party coming up where I dreamed of serving quince tart tatin.
A little bit of research helped me understand that:
- Most varieties of quinces need to be cooked before they can be eaten as they are too sour when raw;
- They can often be confused for apples and pears and, indeed, these ones looked like small granny smiths;
- Turkey ranks first in world quince production by producing a quarter of the total; and
- While quince is fairly common in Mediterranean regions and quince jelly is popular in Great Britain, the fruit doesn’t have a large following on this side of the Atlantic.
Talking up my own courage, I approached the house to seek permission to nab a few quinces. The guy who answered the door didn’t seem so surprised at my request and went on to explain that an older Italian woman had already come by and harvested a few herself. Ah, so I was not alone in my quince foraging quest! And last year at the farmer’s market I learned that Surkl used neighbourhood quinces in some of their baking.
The fruits were still a bit under-ripe – more green than yellow. But they came off fairly easily and ended up cooking up beautifully. The pale yellow flesh of the quince transforms into a bright ruby red when simmered slowly with some water and sugar. Even though I had read about this colour change I was still surprised to see how dramatic it was.
And you, what are your experiences with quince (if any)?
Yum! Here’s a quick shot of the great colour quince turns when cooked (not unlike the colour of its spring blossoms). http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzannelong/437264751/
Does anyone know where to find quince in Toronto? I have go to so many grocery stores, Asian markets, etc and I can never find it!
Quinces are seasonal, and are usually quite bountiful during fall, especially from Sept-Nov, where they are available from quite a few green grocers, and some supermarkets. Out of season it may be possible to obtain some from Middle-Eastern grocery stores (e.g. NASR Foods), as they are commonly used in dishes from Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon.
Hi – I made quince preserves this year before Christmas from quinces I bought at Pusateri’s Fruit Market on Church just south of Wellesley. They were about $2 each.
Too late now to buy them, but keep an eye out next December.
Hi! Quince is REALLY popular in Argentina so I would recommend going to an Argentinian or South American market. There are two restaurants downtown that have an Argentine influence – La Merceria and El Almacen – and they might know some secrets about where to find quince. (In Argentina it’s called “membrilla,” so remember to write that down if they don’t know the word in English.)
Should you ever find yourself in Buenos Aires, you’ll be very happy to eat all the quince you’d like. Good luck!
For a few weeks while they were in season, I saw quinces for sale at Kensington Fruit Market, a little Portuguese place at the corner of Kensington and St. Andrew streets.