Field guide · Autumn

Quince

Marmelo in Portugal, membrillo in Spain, coing in France, mela cotogna in Italy — and the oldest is the Greek kydoni, the Cydonian apple, after Kydonia in Crete. The Portuguese one is the word English took: marmelada is quince paste, and marmalade meant exactly that here from 1480, a solid quince sweet, long before anyone put oranges in it. Do not eat it raw; a ripe quince is hard, tart and astringent, and only long cooking with sugar makes it edible — and turns the pale flesh pink, then red. Buy it fragrant and golden, fuzz and all. Simplest thing to do with it: bake it whole beside something roasting.

Noted 2026-08-17