Quince

Cydonia oblonga 'Pineapple'

fruit

Quince (Cydonia oblonga) is a small, often crooked deciduous tree, 8 to 14 ft tall and wide, grown for large, golden, downy fall fruit with an extraordinary perfume. The raw fruit is rock-hard and astringent, but cooking transforms it into sweet, fragrant, rosy-pink jelly, paste (membrillo), and preserves. Pineapple is a popular American cultivar selected by Luther Burbank for its pineapple-like aroma. The tree is self-fruitful, long-lived (30 to 50 productive years), and ornamental, with showy pale-pink blossoms in spring.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Comfrey: A deep-rooted nutrient accumulator whose cut leaves make a mineral-rich mulch under the tree
• Chives: Alliums planted near the trunk help deter aphids and some borers
• Daffodil: A ring of bulbs around the trunk deters voles and rodents that gnaw bark

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts. Tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Codling moth →

  Larvae tunnel the fruit; use pheromone traps, remove dropped fruit, and band trunks

• Fire blight →

  Bacterial shoot blight; avoid excess nitrogen, prune out blighted wood far below the damage, and disinfect tools

• Quince rust →

  Fungal disease that deforms fruit; remove nearby junipers if possible and clean up fallen debris

🌾 Harvest & storage

Pick quince in late fall when the fruit turns from green to deep golden-yellow and becomes powerfully fragrant, gently twisting it free. The fruit can be stored cool for several weeks, during which the aroma deepens. It is almost always cooked rather than eaten raw, releasing a rosy color and sweet flavor in jelly, paste, and baked dishes.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Quince is high in fiber, vitamin C, and pectin, the last making it superb for setting jams and jellies. It is eaten cooked, in preserves, pastes, and baked goods, where its hard astringent flesh turns sweet, soft, and rose-colored.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

The cooked flesh of quince is safe and delicious, but the seeds (like apple and other rose-family seeds) contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be eaten in quantity. Remove the seeds and core when cooking. The fruit is far too hard and astringent to eat raw.