Spotlight: Quince

Q is for Quince

It’s a bit of a struggle finding a fruit beginning with Q but here it is… the Quince.

It’s not a common fruit in the Western world but you may have heard of quince jelly, or quince jam. It has a bit of a reputation for being “posh”.

I have only had quince a couple of times in my life, the first time of which was when I picked one up from an Asian supermarket – not having a clue what it was or what to do with it. We had been talking about it at work and so I decided to make some quince jam – it turned out ok actually. Raw, it has a tart, dry flavour but once jellified – it’s similar to an apple or pear.

🍐 The quince in relatively low in calories with just 57kcal per 100g of fruit

🍐 Quince contains natural phenols; catechin and epicatechin, which have antioxidant properties

🍐 100g of quince contains 25% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin C

🍐 Quince is a good source of the minerals; calcium, potassium and magnesium. Increased consumption of these minerals is thought to reduce coronary heart disease and stroke