In article ,
Franz Heymann wrote:
Boggle. None of the quince trees I have ever seen would grow well
as a hedge, or be suitable for canes. Japonica would.

Nick, I received many a hiding with a quince "cane". In fact, in Afrikaans
the common word for a "cane" is a "kweperlat", which, retranslated into
English simply becomes "quince stick". Part of the punishment routine was
that the culprit had to go and cut the damn thing. And in case you ask,
the plants really were quinces and bore quinces as fruit. They looked and
tasted precisely like the fruit called "quince" in England. And they made
quince jelly which looks and tastes exactly like the quince jelly I have
eaten in England.

I did not say that I did not believe you. I was boggling. Most quince
trees in this country produce relatively brittle, short shoots. They
wouldn't be of much use for canes until they reach 2" thick - and I
doubt that you were beaten with 2" rods!

In the town where my school was, we were fully familiar with "japonicas".
Incidentally, the quinces of which I speak had yet another use: They made
excellent catapults.

Not a unique characteristic :-)

Anyway, true quinces are NOT high-acid when ripe, which can be seen
by the fact that jelly made from them needs lemon juice to set well
(or japonica).

The setting is not to do with the acidity, but with the presence of
sufficient pectins.
I do assure you most heartily that ripe quinces are sour.

Having eaten a lot, I don't regard them as sour. Anyway, the setting
of jelly needs pectin, acid and sugar. I can assure you that I tested
for pectin (and there was plenty), and there was enough sugar, but no
set. 50/50 quince and japonica gives a very good set.

It seems almost certain that your quinces were a different variety
to the common ones in the UK, but could they have been Pseudocydonia
sinensis (which I have never seen) rather than Cydonia oblonga?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.