All Quinces, great and small

This is the time of year when quince are at their finest, be they commercially-grown, like the "Pineapple Quince" in the middle or wild, like the smaller ones.

My neighbor has a little quince bush that's been fruiting for decades. You can smell its sweet blossoms in the spring from 20 feet away, but the scent of the blossoms pale in comparison to the way the diminutive golden quince fruits perfume the chilly air in the months of October and November.

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Quince, the Queen of Pectin

Well, I wasn't looking for her, but I was happy I found her just the same. I hardly ever see her around anymore, and so when I do bump into her, it's always a pleasant surprise. I'm talking about my old friend, her Royal Highness, Quince. She is, in my book, the unofficial "Queen of Pectin". 

In the early 80's I had a Quince tree in my yard in Wenatchee, and I don't think I fully appreciated it. That small but mighty tree required little care, yet gave back so much. The heady scent of it's blossoms could best be described as tropical, and every fall it's branches sagged with the weight of it's abundance of healthy fruit.

Every once in awhile now I see a small pile of quince amongst other "exotic fruits" in the produce department at the local QFC and I nearly faint because they are almost always quite expensive. Try $2.99. Each.

If only I had known in the 80's what I know now. But that goes without saying for a lot of reasons.

Quince. Pineapple Quince, to be specific. (As opposed to Apple Quince, which are fuzzy.)

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