Jane McMorland Hunter - Quinces: Growing and Cooking

T he earliest known quinces grew wild in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains between Persia and Turkmenistan. This seemingly inhospitable area is actually very fertile and many fruits thrived. A knobbly, irregular-shaped variety still grows wild in this area. The valleys below formed many of the 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. Related to both apples and pears, it is sometimes hard to identify quinces in classical literature, especially as the Greeks tended to use the term melon to refer to both apples and quinces, but it is likely that most golden apples mentioned were actually quinces as they would have been more widely cultivated and better known, particularly in the Levant and southern Europe. It is important to remember that the quinces of central Asia, the Middle East and south America can often be eaten straight from the tree. Quinces were also favoured because it is only comparatively recently that the people of the West have developed such a sweet tooth. Many other regions of the world still appreciate astringent flavours and historically these tastes would have been the norm as sweeteners other than honey were rare and expensive.

One of the quinces 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 Aphrodites fruit. They are associated with love and fertility and it was believed that the trees sprang up wherever she walked, alongside the better known flowers.

The quinces link with Aphrodite ensured it an unofficial place in wedding ceremonies. In 594 BC Solon was elected chief magistrate of Athens. He was a politician, but also a poet and although he is described by George Forrest in The Oxford History of the Classical World as being self-centred, self-righteous and just a trifle pompous he at least kept written records and concerned himself with more than simply amassing power. He tried to establish peace and democracy by writing a new law code and instituting social and political reforms. In due course he set down the format for wedding ceremonies and the quinces part was officially recorded. From then on quinces have been part of the Greek wedding ceremony and are often baked in a cake with honey and sesame seeds. This is said to symbolize the couples enduring commitment to each other through good times and bad. The fruits are often thrown to the bride and groom as they go to their new home and the bride is presented with a quince to ensure fertility. One myth says that pregnant women who indulge their appetites in generous quantities of quince will give birth to industrious and highly intelligent children. Edward Lear was following an ancient precedent when he included quinces in the Owl and the Pussy-cats wedding feast.