Botanical Name: Cydonia Oblonga
Family Name: Rosaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Sub-family: Maloideae, Spiraeoideae
Genus: Cydonia
Species: C. oblonga
Popular Names: Quince Seeds, Cydonian Apple, Elephant Apple, Maja Pahit, Pineapple Quince, Vilvam, Quitte, Bedana, Coing
Part Used: Seeds
Habitat: Native to southwest and Central Asia
Description
A small deciduous tree, Cydonia Oblonga, also known as quince, is often related to apples and bears and has a pome fruit just like them. The temperate tree is 5 to 8 metres tall and 4 to 6 metres wide. The fruit is green, with dense grey-white pubescence when immature and turns to bright golden yellow on maturity. The strongly-perfumed fruit is pear-shaped and 7 to 12 cm in length and 6 to 9 cm in breadth. The simple alternately arranged leaves are 6 to 11 cm in length, with an entire margin and fine white hair. The flowers are white or pink, with five petals in each flower and are produced in spring. The quince is native to Persia, but was also cultivated in Greece and Turkey. Today, the herb is cultivated throughout the world. Turkey produces a quarter of the world’s total production of quinoa and thus, ranks first.
Plant Chemicals
(+)- oxalic acid, citric acid (13.6%), malic acid, quinic acid (72.2%), shikimic acid, fumaric acid, ascorbic acid, 3-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acis, polymeric procyanidins.
Uses and Benefits of Cydonia Oblonga
- Cydonia Oblonga is used to prepare a variety of recipes. It is used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding.
- The fruit can be eaten in the raw as well as cooked form.
- If the fruit smells very strong, it can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jams to enhance their flavour.
- The popular jam called marmalade is made using quince and its name has been derived from ‘marmelo’, the Portuguese word for the fruit.
- Cydonia Oblonga is also used in making a type of wine.
- In the Balkans, the fruit is used to prepare brandy.
- The dried pits of quince are used in treating sore throat and relieving cough.
- A teaspoonful of quince jam, when dissolved in a cup of boiling water, helps relieve intestinal discomfort.
- It is used for treating digestive disorders and gastro-intestinal inflammation.
- Cydonia Oblonga is used as an infusion to treat diarrhoea and haemorrhage of the bowel.
- In the form of a topical lotion, quince is used to soothe eyes.
- It is also used as a compress or poultice for injuries, inflammation of the joints, injuries of the nipples and gashed or deeply cut fingers.
- In Iran, quince seeds are used as a remedy for pneumonia and lung disease.
- Quince is eaten in sandwiches, with cheese (traditionally manchego cheese) or fresh curd.
- In Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela, a dish (known as dulce de membrillo) is prepared by cooking the quince into a reddish jello-like block or firm reddish paste.
- In Syria, a dish called kibbeh safarjalieh is prepared by cooking quince in pomegranate paste with shank meat and kibbeh (a Middle Eastern meat pie with burghul and mince meat).
- The seeds of Cydonia Oblonga are used in the cosmetic industry and for medicinal cosmetics.
Cautions
Prolonged use or large internal doses of Cydonia Oblonga might lead to gastric irritation.
Never bite into a quince; its taste might put you off the fruit completely.
