In the same family as apples and pears, quinces are in season. Andrew Unsworth shares the history of this ancient autumn fruit and how to grow you own tree A karoo town once held the world record for the most quince hedges. When it was established in the 1850s, each Murraysburg resident was required to plant a quince hedge. There are few traces left, but quinces have always been grown in SA towns, especially in drier areas where quince jam must have been boiled up in vast quantities.One of my favourite childhood memories is the quince jam my mum made in the Eastern Free State. Many country kids remember eating hard slices of raw sour quince with salt.Quinces are the ultimate old-fashioned late autumn fruit and unlike apples you will not find them on sale year-round. Your own crop will coincide with the limited commercial crop on sale at this time of the year, but it's still worth growing a tree if you have space.story_article_left1Quince trees are not recommended for small gardens, but its pale pink spring flowers can be attractive in a larger one. Because it is has shallow roots, it can be grown against the house or espaliered against a wall in smaller gardens.Otherwise, it will make a bushy shrub about 5m high. It does not need pruning. The tree needs some cold weather in winter - below 7°C - to fruit well. It can be plagued by fruit moths, so spray soon after the fruit sets in late spring to counter this. Stung fruit will get brown patches of rot.Quinces tolerate both drought and wet soil, as long as it's well-drained. They are self-pollinating, so you can do with one tree. Cydonia oblonga is native to south-west Asia, from Iran to the Caucasus. Introduced very long ago into southern Europe, they were used by ancient Greeks and Romans, who wove them into their myths and legends.Ancient Greek poets used quinces as a mildly rude term for teenage breasts. During the Middle Ages, they were associated with romance and marriage and newly-weds would share one to sweeten their breath.Across Asia, Europe and South America quinces are cooked down to pulp with sugar added to make a variety of sweetmeats. The most familiar locally is Portuguese marmelada. In Iran and Morocco, quinces are added to meat stews and tagines: peel, core, slice and add to stew with lemon or lime juice and pitted prunes. You can also stuff them with spicy mince and bake whole.And, of course, someone somewhere makes alcohol out of anything: in the Alsace region of France and the nearby Valais region of Switzerland, they make liqueur de coing out of quinces...