Quince

One of the few places in the world that I would dearly like to visit is Mesopotamia. It has so many claims to be the cradle of human civilisation. From cities to writing to the wheel. I now have another reason for wanting to go and that reason is that the quince was first cultivated there about 5,000 years ago.

It didn’t remain rooted there for long as its popularity spread along ancient trade routes and quinces spread rapidly westwards and eastwards. To the west they were carried along the old trade routes, reaching the Middle East and then the Mediterranean as Golden Apples, flourishing as they went. To the east they were taken across the deserts of the Silk Road and thence to China where they arrived as the Golden Peaches of Samarkand. They quickly became very popular and were credited with both mythical and medicinal powers. From ancient times right up to the late Middle Ages quinces were, in most places, more widely used and better known than apples.

One of the quince’s earliest possible claims to fame is the Judgement of Paris in Greek mythology. Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and in a foolish miscalculation she was the only god not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Understandably furious, she barged into the wedding ceremony and threw down a fruit inscribed ‘For the most beautiful.’ This fruit was described as a golden apple and was, almost certainly, a quince. Hera, Athene and Aphrodite each claimed the fruit, so Zeus decided that the matter should be settled by Paris. Hera offered him empire, Athene guaranteed military glory and Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. This was Helen, who was unfortunately already married to Menelaus of Sparta. Paris gave the fruit to Aphrodite and she in turn helped him win Helen, thereby sparking off the Trojan War. The main result of this episode for quinces is that ever after they have been regarded as Aphrodite’s fruit. They are associated with love and fertility.

the quince

There are loads more myths in which the quince has a central role. For quince enthusiasts whenever an apple is mentioned they claim it is actually a quince. Think Garden of Eden.

Leaping forward a few thousand years the quince’s original Latin name for the fruit was cotoneum and this, in turn, evolved into the French coin or coings. In England in the Middle Ages the Old French name coyn or quoyn was used but by the fourteenth century the words had merged and the name quince was widespread.

And talking about names. The surname was introduced into England by followers of Duke William of Normandy at the time of the Conquest of England in 1066, the surname being one of the earliest recorded anywhere in the world. Spellings include de Quincey, Quince, Quincey, Quinsee, Quinsey and others. All derive their names from the pre 3rd century Gallo-Roman personal name Quintas, meaning fifth born, and the name of a famous Roman clan. Amongst the early recordings are those of Henri de Quenci in the Danelaw Documents of England in 1154, whilst from the church registers we have Bennet Quince who married Thomas Gee on December 14th 1592, at St. Dunstan's Stepney.

But not Shakespeare’s most famous quince, Peter Quince, the carpenter in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, that derives from quines or quoins, the wedges which carpenters use to steady the pieces they are cutting.

Back to the fruit. With the decline of servants they were increasingly regarded as too much bother to cook and so fell out of favour. In the twenty-first century and a new emphasis on home-grown produce this has meant that they are coming back into favour, so:

quince paste

Quince Paste: A Recipe

Take a pan with enough water
to cover four peeled and chopped quince
boil then reduce heat and cover
stir for thirty minutes and since
it needs to be smooth then puree
whose bitter taste will cause a wince
so add sugar and vanilla
cook until thick and red and rinse
a terrine mould for the mixture
pour it into the mould then mince
tofu beef with mixed fruit to add
when it’s set and that should convince
your taste buds or any top chef
of a new dish called Terrince Quinnce

Terry Quinn