A very hard fruit that isn't great raw (like a wood apple) but is amazing preserved or cooked. It turns pink when cooked, making it a beautiful color addition.

Native to Iran, Turkey, and possibly Greece and the Crimean Peninsula.

Ancient Roman suitors used to give quinces to their lovers as a sign of commitment. The Greeks associated quinces with romance, too. Mythology holds that the quince was a gift from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and it was a custom in ancient Greece to toss whole quinces into bridal chariots.