Quince HQ

For those of you who love quinces, it’s time to enjoy the spoils of this year’s harvest with all those aromatic golden fruits just waiting to be poached and preserved to enjoy throughout the year. But if you are new to quinces, then this edition is for you. Here, you’ll discover how to get the most out of them with tips on how to prepare them, poach them, plus a tried-and-tested recipe for a delicious “crowd-pleaser” dessert. Plus, we’re going back in time to marvel at this charming 1880s photograph (above) to ask, “What quince is that?”

What makes a quince a quince?
Preparing quinces: essential tools and “tips of the trade.”
Perfecting a batch of poached quinces
Trying to identify a quince tree in an 1880 photograph
A Quince Sponge Pudding recipe, plus
What’s happening in the orchard?

‘Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority shares in it.’ Leo Tolstoy.

Cathy x

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When summer slips away and the leaves begin to fall, quinces are readying their magic powers

It’s a fruit with personality: voluptuous, sensual, golden, fragrant, sublimely aromatic, and oh so versatile. It’s true that they aren’t much fun to eat raw … but the wow factor comes during cooking: Quince + sweetener + heat + time = heaven on a spoon. Pure alchemy.

Though related to apples and pears - which you can tell by their shape - they are botanically different. Their fancy name is Cydonia oblonga; one that shouts back to ancient Greece where the very best quinces in the world were grown in Kydonia, on the island of Crete.

All 16 known quince varieties currently in Australia are growing in the Quince HQ orchard.

Quince HQ

April 2026 NEWS

At Quince HQ we want to inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity and excitement about quinces; a really old fruit that is being rediscovered … and loved again. And there really is so much to love!

You can delve into a wondrous quince-inspired world full of stories of love, lust, legend, and traditions; be tempted by fascinating and every-day recipes; be enchanted by artworks and poetic musings through the ages; or even be enthused to grow a tree. Be prepared for something special.

Quince isn’t just a fruit

… it’s an experience.

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Varieties

There was a time, in the early 1900s, when there were 40 varieties known to be growing across Australia.

Enquiries

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Business hours