Cathay quince is similar to the more commonly known “flowering quinces” (C. sinensis, C. japonica and hybrids). However, it differs in a number of morphological features. Compared to its cousin species and hybrids it is a little less cold hardy (though it does perfectly fine in my zone 8 area), and also it has the most wicked thorns out of the group. In fact I almost got stuck in one of the mother bushes when trying to grab a fruit years ago. That said, the fruit produced by this species are very large in comparison to other flowering quinces and its thorny branches can make it a useful addition to mixed species hedgerows if you desire them to be uncrossable by people or larger animals.
Like true quince (Cydonia oblonga), the fruit is hard when raw, but unlike true quince it will soften very quickly when simmered with just a little water for 20-30 minutes (true quince requires a more lengthy cooking time to fully soften). The flavor is sharp and very comparable to lemon, and once cooked and run through a food mill to separate the pulp from the skin/core/seeds the texture is like apple sauce. This sauce can then be used for whatever you want to add lemon flavor to or simply sweetened to make a preserve.
(Note: the only reason I removed the seeds before cooking the examples pictured here is that I was saving the seeds, but these could have otherwise just all been cooked together and strained apart later.)
Cathay quinces require cross pollination for fruit set and can be pollinated by other flowering quinces of either their own species or of their cousin species. The fruit pictured in this post were developed from pollination by C. speciosa 'Toyo Nishiki*, a multi-colored flower selection of Chinese flowering quince. Although Japanese flowering quinces (C. japonica) are also compatible for pollination they tend to bloom a little later than C. catheyensis and C. speciosa making them less reliable as pollinizers for Cathay quince.
I just made a cake with some of the cooked Cathay quince and it turned out pretty good. (This would have worked with any of the more commonly available flowering quince varieties as well)
The approximate recipe was:
Dry ingredients
1 cup flour (I used a blend of wheat and oat)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 handfull of brown sugar
and a few dashes of pumkin pie spice
Wet ingredients
6 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
1 large Cathay quince worth of cooked pulp
1 splash of vanilla extract
1 splash of milk (because the wet mix needed to be a bit runnier)
I mixed all together and baked at 375F for about 25 minutes.
The result was very moist and dense with a pleasantly tangy flavor. I would consider this a good use for any flowering quince fruit and worth repeating!
No. I grew mine from seed collected at a botanical garden in Washington. I currently have a large batch of F1 hybrid seedlings growing out from C. cathayensis pollinated by the more cold hardy C. speciosa (large fruited selection called ‘Toyo Nishiki’).
If you’re interested in getting some of these C. cathayensis based hybrid seedlings (which will likely be more cold hardy than the straight species) let me know. I only need to keep a handful of the seedlings because I’m not planning to evaluate them individually, but rather just need them to make some sib-crosses for an F2 generation since the F2 is where the genes get more mixed up with progeny being far more variable. I expect them to mostly make large fruit considering both parents.
I am interested in doing the same thing and would love to acquire some F1s as I have 6 other C. japonica/speciosa varieties and plan on further expanding
Most Chaenomeles require cross pollination for fruit set so multiple would be needed, but since they’re naturally multi trunk you could plant two or three seedlings together to grow as one.
I do plan to selectively breed for self fertility in the future though. I have one that sets fruit on its own, but the fruit is puny so it will need to be crossed with large fruited types.
Sounds like a good cross. I’ve heard of ‘toyo nishiki’ and always thought I might try growing one sometime. I’d be interested in a seedling for sure! I don’t know that Pseudocydonia sine sis would readily cross, but it might. I have a whole section of a nurse bed full of them, grown out from softball sized fruit harvested in Western Mass. Happy to send you a couple of those if they’re of interest
Pseudocydonia get lots of canker here which makes them difficult because of die back. I don’t think they readily cross with Chaenomeles either.
Aside from hybridizing to select for fruit size (hence the use of C. cathayensis with its large fruit) I’d also like to incorporate self fertility and thornlessness into my breeding line. I have all the genetics needed already in my collection, but it will take multiple crosses with further crosses between the crosses; probably requiring an F3 or maybe even F4 generation before something like a heavily productive self fertile, thornless, large fruited clone can be established. On top of that I’d like it to be attractive!
