She’s the Queen of Quince — and She Lives in Rhode Island
Monday, November 06, 2023
Rhode Islander Barbara Ghazarian wants people to know how to cook quince — if they even know about the fruit, that is.
“It’s a first cousin of an apple and pear — it’s a fall tree fruit,” said Ghazarian, the self-proclaimed "Queen of Quince." “The rootstock of quince has been used for pears from the 1500s. My grandmother had three quince trees in the yard.”
The author of Simply Quince, Ghazarian grew up in Connecticut but spent “every other weekend” in Whitinsville, Massachusetts with her Armenian grandparents, where quince was in abundance.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTA certified financial planning professional, Ghazarian became an expert on the fruit when she began cooking for her husband.
“He’s the number one Armenian linguist in the world and he’s a real picky eater,” laughed Ghazarian, who summered in Watch Hill growing up — and always knew she would one day return.
Fruit in Focus
“The interesting thing about quince is its history. It’s the oldest cultivar in the world,” said Ghazarian. “It is the highest pectin-containing fruit in nature. Prior to World War II if you wanted to make a jelly, you needed to have a quince tree to harvest the pectin.”
But with the advent of artificial pectin, quince was no longer a cooking necessity.
“The fruit I’m talking about is ‘cydonia oblonga.’ The reason I make that distinction is that many people think, ‘Oh, I’ve got quince in my backyard’ — that can be a Japanese flowering tree,” said Ghazarian.
For Ghazarian, the key to quince is in how it is prepared.
“The fruit is not an 'aperitif' fruit. It needs to be cooked,” said Ghazarian. “Unlike the apple or pear, you know if you cook those they soften and lose their shape. Not so with quince."
“If I made a culinary contribution, it is that I came up with the fact you could poach or bake quince in wedges," she said. "You can peel, core, and poach or bake it on the stove or in the oven for about an hour and a half with a little sugar — these wedges become flexible but they don’t lose their shape. So the poached or baked quince becomes an ingredient. You can jar it or freeze it, you can put it in savory or sweet desserts.”
“When cooked, it tastes like maybe a honeyed apple, but it’s very mild,” said Ghazarian. “My favorite holiday recipe is a quince and cashew stuffing. When you cut the poached quince up and put it in the cashew stuffing, the quince is red — a holiday red.”
And Ghazarian's culinary contributions go far beyond quince. She also wrote "Simply Armenian," and her "lahmacun" flatbread recipe was featured in the Smithsonian Magazine.
For those with questions about quince though, Ghazarian is a go-to source.
"Don’t overlook the quince; try sniffing (and poaching) it instead," reported the Seattle Times last week, quoting Ghazarian.
Coming “Back” to Rhode Island
For Ghazarian, when she was introduced to Rhode Island as a child, she knew she would one day come back for good.
“My father discovered Watch Hill after World War II. We grew up in summering there, we spent every Fourth of July,” said Ghazarian.
“When I was with my husband in Monterey, California for his military linguist work, I suffered. I said I can’t,” said Ghazarian. “I bought a crash pad condo on Tuckerman in Middletown and we spent every summer here as summer people; now I’m here in Portsmouth.”
And of course, Ghazarian has her quince — and quince trees.
“When the fruit is ripe, it emits a floral scent,” said Ghazarian. “If you came to my house here when quince is in season, you would think you smelled roses.”
While quince season is now over, for those who might want to give the fruit a try next year, Ghazarian recommends going to Rocky Brook Orchard in Portsmouth.
“They’ve got every variety of apple — and every variety of quince,” says Ghazarian.
