Nature's umbrella: 5 reasons why quince trees are awesome
Vancouver can be a tough city to live in during the rainy season — but there's a tree out there that's perfectly fit to shelter many soaked Vancouverites.
The Quince tree is known for its classic umbrella shape, and you can spot it all over the city. It also produces some delicious fruit and can even make you smell good.
Vancouver's "Tree Guy'" David Tracey stopped by CBC's North by Northwest to share some fascinating facts about the Quince tree.
1. You can eat the fruit — with some effort
Quince trees produce a yellow fruit that is edible. But eating it raw can be hard on the jaw, and even harder on the tastebuds.
"If you try to take a bite out of it — you have to really gnaw on it to get it out, and then you wish you hadn't because it's quite stringent," said Tracey.
But if you cook it, the natural yellow color of the fruit turns brown, and the end result is delicious.
"The taste is like nothing else on this planet," he said.
Try cutting the fruit up into slices and cooking them with apples to make a delicious pie.
2. It's the preferred fruit of Aphrodite
"The Greeks were fascinated by quince," said Tracey.
In fact, he said the iconic image of Aphrodite holding what appears to be a "golden apple" is actually a quince fruit.
"Back then, the quince was actually more widely planted and better known than apple," he said.
3. It's a symbol of love and fertility
In Greek mythology, the quince became associated with love and fertility, said Tracey.
In traditional Greek weddings (still practiced by some today), the quince was given to the bride on her way to the wedding chamber to "sweeten the first kiss," and the couple would share a quince as a sign of love.
After the wedding, it was believed to be a great tool to ensure the birth of a healthy child.
"They say if a pregnant mother eats a lot of quince, the child will be born industrious and highly intelligent," said Tracey.
4. The fruit is healthy
"It's had this reputation over the centuries as being a healthful fruit as well as a love potion," said Tracey.
Quince fruits are rich in vitamin C, zinc, potassium, copper, iron, and dietary fiber.
The fruit is said to be good for the skin and also works as an anti-inflammatory, says Tracey.
5. It's a four-season tree
"In spring, it comes out with these beautiful pink-fading-to-white blossoms," he said. "It's like an apple blossom and it's quite fragrant."
And when it gets cold outside, the tree's fascinatingly contorted branches are on full display.
"They have a really interesting gnarled shape. So in the winter, when all the leaves are off... it's still a showcase in the garden," he said.
With files from CBC's North by Northwest
To listen to the full interview, click on the audio labelled: Vancouver's 'Tree Guy' talks quince trees
