When to harvest quince - choose the right time to harvest. Useful properties and contraindications of quince

Autumn without southern winter fruits is like summer without ice cream. But choosing these overseas delicacies is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

The main problem with fruits from the south can be considered that they are still unripe. Otherwise, they simply will not reach, because persimmon and feijoa are fruits that are distinguished by tenderness, and quince immediately deteriorates from the most minor dents. Therefore, the fruits that have ripened on the branches, you will be able to taste exclusively in the south, where they have a breathtaking taste and aroma.

Of course, those fruits that are imported to us are very healthy and tasty. In the process of ripening, they almost do not lose their vitamins and valuable substances, which cannot be said about their aroma. But the most important thing is that these fruits appear already at the beginning of winter, when a person experiences an acute shortage of trace elements and fresh, tasty and sweet fruits.

feijoa

Feijoa is a very small green fruit that hits the shelves of our stores straight from the Caucasus Mountains. This exotic delicacy is considered one of the products that contain the most vitamins and nutrients - they will save you from beriberi in anticipation of the winter cold.

Feijoa is valued for the fact that iodine is included in its composition in considerable quantities. Naturally, the percentage of its content is slightly lower than in seafood, but it is important that our body absorbs iodine incredibly easily from feijoa. In addition, Caucasian fruits boast a high content of iron and vitamin C.

What feijoas to buy?

In this case, be guided by the following rule: the larger, the better. Feijoas of large sizes had time to ripen better, they hung on the branches much longer and acquired the necessary amount of vitamins and sugars.

Make sure that the fruit is evenly colored, there can be no talk of any bruises and stains - all these are the main signs that these feijoa have been on sale for a very long time.

If you smell feijoa, it should exude the aroma of sweet pineapple. This is the main sign of a ripe fruit. Solid fruits still need to lie down, and therefore, at the time of purchase, the smell may not appear.

If the feijoa is ripe, it must be soft. But, again, only stone fruits, which are distinguished by their rigidity, reach the market stalls.

Persimmon

Persimmon contains a huge amount of iron and calcium, and therefore this fruit is deservedly considered the best assistant in raising the level of hemoglobin in the blood. Sweet and ripe persimmon makes an excellent dessert, although gourmets use it in tandem with meat, creating their own unique and wonderful sauce.

For ripe persimmons:

The sepal is necessarily dry, its shade is grayish-brown. This is the main sign of sufficient ripeness of the fruit. Persimmon is both soft and hard enough. For example, the so-loved kinglet is a rather hard variety; it is possible to understand whether it is ripe enough only during the test.

Just cut open the beetle and look at its inside. If it is brown-chocolate, then the fruit will be sweet and tasty, but the red color indicates that the fruit is not pollinated, it knits. Outwardly, this difference cannot be detected.

Persimmon with very soft pulp, having transparent places - usually ripe, and maybe also slightly frozen. Such a fruit is sweet, but it cannot lie for a long time.

How to get rid of the astringent taste of persimmons

Persimmon contains a large amount of tannins. If the fruit is ripe, they simply disappear and do not affect the taste, otherwise the fruit knits. If you want to get rid of tannins, you need:

Dry the persimmon or freeze it;

Soak the fruit in warm water and leave overnight;

Just leave the fruit to ripen.

Quince

Quince is cultivated in the Krasnodar Territory, Moldova, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The more sunlight a fruit receives, the more fragrant and healthier it will eventually grow. Quince should be consumed by those suffering from tuberculosis, anemia, bronchial asthma, jaundice, heart disease and gastrointestinal diseases. It is famous for its antibacterial action. The composition of persimmon includes vitamins such as A, C, B1, B22, PP, as well as salts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, iron.

Autumn without southern winter fruits is like summer without ice cream. But choosing these overseas delicacies is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

The main problem with fruits from the south can be considered that they are still unripe. Otherwise, they simply will not reach, because persimmon and feijoa are fruits that are distinguished by tenderness, and quince immediately deteriorates from the most minor dents. Therefore, the fruits that have ripened on the branches, you will be able to taste exclusively in the south, where they have a breathtaking taste and aroma.

Of course, those fruits that are imported to us are very healthy and tasty. In the process of ripening, they almost do not lose their vitamins and valuable substances, which cannot be said about their aroma. But the most important thing is that these fruits appear already at the beginning of winter, when a person experiences an acute shortage of trace elements and fresh, tasty and sweet fruits.

feijoa

Feijoa is a very small green fruit that hits the shelves of our stores straight from the Caucasus Mountains. This exotic delicacy is considered one of the products that contain the most vitamins and nutrients - they will save you from beriberi in anticipation of the winter cold.

Feijoa is valued for the fact that iodine is included in its composition in considerable quantities. Naturally, the percentage of its content is slightly lower than in seafood, but it is important that our body absorbs iodine incredibly easily from feijoa. In addition, Caucasian fruits boast a high content of iron and vitamin C.

What feijoas to buy?

In this case, be guided by the following rule: the larger, the better. Feijoas of large sizes had time to ripen better, they hung on the branches much longer and acquired the necessary amount of vitamins and sugars.

Make sure that the fruit is evenly colored, there can be no talk of any bruises and stains - all these are the main signs that these feijoa have been on sale for a very long time.

If you smell feijoa, it should exude the aroma of sweet pineapple. This is the main sign of a ripe fruit. Solid fruits still need to lie down, and therefore, at the time of purchase, the smell may not appear.

If the feijoa is ripe, it must be soft. But, again, only stone fruits, which are distinguished by their rigidity, reach the market stalls.

Persimmon

Persimmon contains a huge amount of iron and calcium, and therefore this fruit is deservedly considered the best assistant in raising the level of hemoglobin in the blood. Sweet and ripe persimmon makes an excellent dessert, although gourmets use it in tandem with meat, creating their own unique and wonderful sauce.

For ripe persimmons:

The sepal is necessarily dry, its shade is grayish-brown. This is the main sign of sufficient ripeness of the fruit. Persimmon is both soft and hard enough. For example, the so-loved kinglet is a rather hard variety; it is possible to understand whether it is ripe enough only during the test.

Just cut open the beetle and look at its inside. If it is brown-chocolate, then the fruit will be sweet and tasty, but the red color indicates that the fruit is not pollinated, it knits. Outwardly, this difference cannot be detected.

Persimmon with very soft pulp, having transparent places - usually ripe, and maybe also slightly frozen. Such a fruit is sweet, but it cannot lie for a long time.

How to get rid of the astringent taste of persimmons

Persimmon contains a large amount of tannins. If the fruit is ripe, they simply disappear and do not affect the taste, otherwise the fruit knits. If you want to get rid of tannins, you need:

Dry the persimmon or freeze it;

Soak the fruit in warm water and leave overnight;

Just leave the fruit to ripen.

Quince

Quince is cultivated in the Krasnodar Territory, Moldova, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The more sunlight a fruit receives, the more fragrant and healthier it will eventually grow. Quince should be consumed by those suffering from tuberculosis, anemia, bronchial asthma, jaundice, heart disease and gastrointestinal diseases. It is famous for its antibacterial action. The composition of persimmon includes vitamins such as A, C, B1, B22, PP, as well as salts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, iron.

Product Description

Quince — fruit, the fruit of the tree quince(she is quince oblong), looks like both an apple and a pear. And at the same time, it cannot boast of either the glossy beauty of the first, or the juicy sweetness of the second. It is one of the few fruits that is practically can't eat raw. Quince usually requires culinary processing: jams, jams and chutneys are made from it, compotes are cooked, it is added to meat dishes, put in pies.

True, in some places in the southern regions there are sweet varieties of quince, which do not have to be baked or stewed. And in the Middle East, they also eat the usual, astringent-sour, fresh. But these are rather exceptions.

Species and varieties

Depending on the variety, the quince may be round or pear-shaped, with a yellow skin and a sweetish-tart taste. There are several sweet quince species, which are quite suitable for eating them raw.

The oldest European variety is considered Portuguese quince. For such a quince, you really need to go to Portugal; quince is more often imported to Russia from France And Chile.

Quince is grown on Caucasus, V Transcaucasia And Central Asia- it is quince from these regions that is most accessible to Russians.

If as a child you spent your holidays not in Turkey, but in the Caucasus, then be sure to remember how they cook quince compote. Tuberculous fruits are collected, washed, carefully cleaned and laid out in sterilized jars - along with crimson cornel berries. Then the contents of the jars are poured with hot syrup and closed with a lid. The next day, the syrup is drained, boiled for 30-40 minutes and poured over the quince again.

Lamb is cooked with quince - this dish can be found both in the Transcaucasus and in Central Asia. It happens and pilaf with quince: it is prepared as usual, quince halves are added simultaneously with carrots, and the same amount is put as meat. With quince, you can stew pork, fry chicken sprinkled with spices, add it to (by the way, this is often done in Azerbaijan - quince slices are put in lamb soup, it turns out transparent, and quince acid neutralizes the fat content of the dish). Someone puts a quince in stuffing for vegetarian cabbage rolls. Someone like the Moroccans stewing lamb with her and served with crumbly couscous. good and stuffed quince: it is filled with fillings in much the same way as apples. So, by the way, they cook in Armenia Ashtarak dolma.

Apple-quince is prepared with quince wine and even quince moonshine(aka ratafia, he is eau de vie, if you want to).

However, no matter which cookbook you open, it becomes obvious that most often they cook from quince Dessert. It looks amazingly natural in recipes for various pies, especially apple pies, to which it gives a pinkish tint and, of course, a unique flavor. For sweet sauces, marmalade, jelly quince is simply created - there are so many pectin substances in it that it would be unforgivable not to fill at least a small jar with fragrant amber-pink jam. The easiest and safest option is to simply sprinkle the quince slices with sweet wine, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and, covered with foil, bake them in the oven. Only you need to bake very slowly, about three hours, only at 100ºС.

We add that the word "marmalade" was originally called precisely quince marmalade- a Portuguese invention, the oldest of European marmalades (in Portuguese marmelo- "quince"). In Portugal, young cheese is usually eaten with quince marmalade.

Quince seeds should not be consumed - they are poisonous. But when cooked (boiled, for example), they become safe.

Quince - one of the latest fruits per year: except for sale persimmons may start later. Early varieties of quince are harvested in late August — early September. Middle and late October.

Early quince is immediately usable (accordingly, it appears on the market in late August). In later varieties, technological ripeness occurs after 20-40 days: during this time, quince ripens, gradually improving taste, texture, color and aroma. It is interesting that two weeks after laying for storage in quince fruits, the largest percentage of sugar accumulation is observed, which then gradually decreases; the same happens with acids and pectins.

How to choose and store

Choose quince fruits more yellow. A green tint may indicate immaturity. Coloring should be uniform, without spots and dents.

The quality of the quince fruit can be determined by its hardness, density and smell. Hardness is moderate (fruits should not be stone): in the process of ripening, it decreases. From the ripe fruit should come a pleasant aroma.

With its seeming strength, quince is quite sensitive to mechanical damage. The resulting dent or speck from the impact can provoke rapid damage to the fetus. Therefore, it is important not only to choose the right quince fruits, but also to bring them home without damaging them.

farmers keep quince like apples in cool room(for example, cellars) in boxes, the bottom of which is lined with straw (and even better - if all the fruits are separated from each other by shavings).

At home, the best place for quince will be fridge. There, the quince will last in good condition for two months if wrapped in a bag (preferably paper). Under ideal storage conditions (0-4 degrees), the shelf life can be extended up to 4 months. Quince does not like moisture. Make sure the fruits are dry.

Slightly unripe quince fruit ripen at home, if you lie down a little. This will happen even if the quince is stored in the refrigerator.

Quince is one of the very last fruits of the year. Unless it starts later. Well preserved, until spring, which is a good advantage of this product.

Choose fruits that are more yellow in color. A green tint may indicate immaturity. Coloring should be uniform, without spots and dents.

When buying fruits such as quince, the quality of the fruit is mainly determined by firmness, firmness and smell. Touch to the touch. The hardness should be moderate (not stony): in the process of maturation, it decreases. From the ripe fruit should come a pleasant aroma.

With its seeming strength, quince is quite sensitive to mechanical damage. The resulting dent or speck from impact can cause rapid spoilage of this product. Therefore, it is important not only to choose correctly, but also to bring the fruits without the formation of defects.

Despite the fact that quince is used fresh less often than cooked, it is very edible and many people like it for its original astringent taste. If the fruit lies a little, then it will ripen, it will become a little softer, even if you store it in the refrigerator.

And, by the way, it is better not to use the seeds - they are poisonous. But when cooked (cooking, for example), they become safe.

How to store quince

The refrigerator is the best place for this fruit. Will last in good condition for two months if you wrap it in a bag (preferably paper). Under ideal storage conditions (temperature 0-4 degrees Celsius), the shelf life can be extended up to 4 months.

Quince does not like moisture. Make sure the fruits are dry. Use paper bags, sand, or sawdust to prevent excess moisture.

After you have learned how to choose the right quince, you can safely go to the store and buy the highest quality fruit.

Foreword

Quince jam and compotes have long been classics of winter desserts. This fruit does not lose its fans today. But not all housewives know when to pick quince in order to get the best taste and ensure long-term preservation.

What you need to know about quince?

This plant could be seen many years ago in Persia, Greece and Cyprus. They also called him differently - some are peppy, some are guanna, and some are even. By the way, even now you can find a similar tree in the wild - it usually grows on its own in the Caucasus, Iran and Central Asia.

From there, the common quince migrated to many countries in Europe, East Asia, as well as North America and Africa. On the territory of Russia, it does not always bear fruit well, however, in the climatic conditions of such a region as the Moscow Region, the tree feels quite well.

What is a quince? The height of a quince tree already at the age of 5 usually reaches about 2-3 meters. The maximum height of an adult tree can be all 5 meters, and even more in the wild. This plant loves light and does not tolerate severe frosts. Calmly refers to the lack of fertilizers and can grow in different soils.

For those areas where winters are colder, we recommend purchasing a low-growing quince variety. This winter-hardy shrub will provide a harvest and survive in cold climates. You can also plant a variety of quince Limonka or Oil dish early. Suitable for Russia and quince early ripening.

Many gardeners have adapted to use this small tree as. WITH from the moment of planting in open ground, quince can give the first fruits already for 4–5 years. They should be collected in late autumn. It was then that quince has the largest number of micro and macro elements. By the amount of vitamin C, these fruits surpass even apples.

Quince blooms in May-June. On the territory of Russia, it is mainly grown in the south, it is also common in the Caucasus, where the fruits are very often used in the preparation of various national dishes. In folk medicine, quince is also a valuable medicinal plant. Not only the fruits and seeds of this plant are used, but also the leaves, the bark of the tree. Fruits, in addition to vitamins, are rich in tannins and pectin, organic acids, fructose, iron, copper. So there is no doubt about its usefulness.

Harvesting is the right approach

A young quince at first will bear fruit with a very small amount of fruit, however, this does not affect their taste. Already by the first harvest, you can determine how tasty the fruit will be in the future. When should quince be harvested?

Leaves can be harvested as early as June or July. In order to obtain a medicinal material of the desired quality, the foliage must be thoroughly dried in the air, under a canopy. From time to time, the collection should be gently mixed. Once the petioles become brittle and start to break when you try to bend them, they are ready to be packaged. To store the leaves, use a wooden or glass container that closes with a lid.

Keep in mind that quince is, in fact, the latest of all fruits. So tune in to harvest in October or November. If autumn is late, then wait as long as possible. But if weather forecasters portend imminent frosts, then the fruits should be harvested without waiting for full ripening. The very first sign that the time has come to collect the fruits is their shedding on the ground. When harvesting this crop, it is not advisable to coward the tree, since the fallen fruits can be beaten and the quince will simply not be suitable for further storage. Therefore, it is best to collect it manually.

If you have a variety of common quince, then by the time of harvest it should be a rich yellow color, quite hard to the touch, and a little tart in taste. Strong astringency indicates that the fruits are still immature.

You should be well prepared for the fruit picking itself - in addition to the standard ladder and containers for the collected fruits, you will also need Vaseline for the nose or at least a regular gauze bandage. The fact is that when collecting quince fruits, fluffs from them can get on the mucous membrane of your nose and throat and cause irritation of the upper respiratory tract. This can be followed by a cough, and even a burning sensation or dryness in the throat. At the end of the collection, it is advisable to make a warm soda solution and rinse the nasopharynx several times with it, and also simply rinse your face with water. Very often, allergy sufferers begin to react to such pollen, so pay attention to preventive measures. It is not worth scratching your eyes and nose with your hands after harvesting. If you decide not to grow quince, but simply buy it at the bazaar, then it is better to do this not earlier than October, since the fruit harvested by gardeners will begin to deteriorate earlier.

It is believed that large fruits can retain juiciness longer, and they are often more fragrant. If you notice green spots on your quince or just a greenish coating, then this means that the fruits are still immature. If you are selecting fruits for storage, then it is better for these purposes to take those that do not have scratches on the skin or any dents.

Harvested quince fruits can be safely stored in trays or ordinary boxes for a long period of time. And even after a few months, the characteristic taste will not change at all. If the collected fruits have begun to rot, they should be separated from the undamaged ones. Sometimes it is enough to cut off the places that have begun to deteriorate so that the rest of the fruit can be used in the preparation of meat dishes, jams or compotes.

Often, already harvested quince fruits ripen for some time in boxes. Usually a month is enough for the fruits to acquire the best taste. The pulp of common quince should be firm, with a slightly sour-sweet and tart taste.

The use of quince is a harmless treatment!

Why is quince used in folk medicine? First of all, it is advised for anemia, chronic gastritis and diabetes. From the seeds, it is advised to make tea with a strong cough, and the leaves and bark of quince branches help in the treatment of hypertension.