Interesting Facts about Quinces
This quince is a fruit belonging to the same family as apples, pears, apricots, strawberries and even almonds! Quince trees grow about 5-8 metres high and produce green fruit which turns yellow in autumn when they’re ready to be harvested. Our quince trees are one of the newest additions to the Green Olive at Red Hill orchard.
Culinary Uses for Quinces
Once our quince trees are ready, we will harvest the quince and use them on our seasonal grazing menu at the farm. You will see delicious quince desserts and quince pastes to accompany our selection of local cheeses. In the coming years when our quince trees are producing an abundance of fruit, we will make seasonal quince paste for sale in our Farm Store that make the perfect gift for loved ones or a special treat with crackers and cheese.
In the meantime, check out this delicious quince recipe:
Honey quinces
Ingredients
3 quinces, thoroughly washed
80g butter
⅓ cup honey
¼ cup water
Method
- Preheat oven to 150°C. Halve the unpeeled quinces and remove the pips and core from the fruit using a spoon. Grease a dish with a third of the butter and place the quinces in the dish hollow side up.
- Pour the remaining butter and the honey in the hollows of the quince and pour the water in the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil and bake for a minimum of 3 hours or until quinces are soft and red. Serve warm with cream.
Recipe by Stephanie Alexander.
When Sue was growing up on the farm in Echuca, she had quince trees from which she made delicious quince paste and quince jelly. Her horse absolutely loved quince so she used to split the fallen or damaged fruit on the fence wire and give them to him as a special treat! We’re looking forward to when our quince tree starts producing fruit so we can feed some as a treat to our Shetland pony, Gracie!
Cover photo credit: Nature and Garden