My local Mexican market has started carrying quince paste. I am overjoyed! It is absolutely delicious, and very reasonably priced.
But I noticed that in a corner of the label, in little teeny letters, it says
“Warning: this product contains quince.” (with quotes.)
Well, yeah. That’s pretty much all it contains, except sugar and a little citric acid.
But, why the warning?
Maybe because the fruit often isn’t very edible raw?
Has anyone here ever tried to eat quince that wasn’t processed in some way? How did you fare?
The seeds
“The seeds contain nitriles (RCN), which are common in seeds of the rose family. In the stomach, enzymes or stomach acid or both cause some of the nitriles to be hydrolyzed and produce HCN (hydrogen cyanide), which is a volatile gas. The seeds are only likely to be toxic if a large quantity is eaten”
I gathered from Wikipedia that raw quince is similar to unripe persimmon.
Wikipedia had this to say about quince toxicology:
“The seeds contain nitriles (RCN), which are common in seeds of the rose family. In the stomach, enzymes or stomach acid or both cause some of the nitriles to be hydrolyzed and produce HCN (hydrogen cyanide), which is a volatile gas. The seeds are only likely to be toxic if a large quantity is eaten.”
Interesting, because another part of the same article says:
“In Iran, quince, called beh (ﺑﻪ), is used raw or in stews and jam, and the seeds are used as a remedy for pneumonia and lung disease. In parts of Afghanistan, the quince seeds are collected and boiled and then ingested to combat pneumonia.”
Conclusion: Do NOT complain of pneumonia in Iran or Afghanistan.
~VOW
The same substances are found in apple seeds, yet nobody feels obliged to warn about a product containing apples.
My guess is that it’s about allergens, though I don’t know how common quince allergies are.
Yes. Me! Badly.
Smelled wonderful - tasted *very *astringent. Once we knew what we were dealing with (and I had finished trying to spit out my tongue), we gathered up as much ripe fruit as we could and feasted on Quince jelly for months.
Well, the thing about quince is, you have to eat it with a runcible spoon. (Ha ha, right out of the tub, never mind the toast!)