Temperate Fruit & Orchards > Temperate Fruit Discussion

Karp's Sweet Quince, and other Quince for eating raw

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BloomAndSprout:

--- Quote from: SoCal2warm on June 18, 2021, 03:24:37 AM ---An update: The Karp's Sweet has produced several little fruit druplets, but I fear they may drop off.
That type of thing seems to often happen when the tree does not have enough vigor due to lack of previous winter chill.

Meanwhile the Passe Crassane tree seems to be growing very well in its zone 10 climate, which I feel is notable for a European pear.


Edit as of the start of July:
Another update: There are now two fruits on the Karp's Sweet. Each is only about the size of a tangerine now.

--- End quote ---
So what was your verdict on Karp's Sweet?

SoCal2warm:
An update:

The Karp's Sweet in southern California did finally produce one big fruit. Unfortunately some animal (either a possum or racoon) made several bite marks into it and deep scratches. Despite this, I did pick the fruit and get an opportunity to taste it. I think it would likely have been able to ripen a little more if it had been left on the tree longer, but with the damage I do not think the fruit would have lasted longer.
It was a huge fruit, much bigger than any apple. (Maybe even a little bigger than a typical grapefruit bought from the supermarket)
The taste, as best as I could tell, was similar to the Crimea. A little dense but kind of edible, but a little too acidic to really fully enjoy eating very much of. Maybe I would say it might just have been the tiniest bit more mild in flavor than the Crimea I tasted, but still "as good".

The next year after that the tree also produced a big beautiful yellow fruit, but an animal apparently took it and it disappeared. (Perhaps this should be taken as a good indicator, since I do not think an animal would have taken a regular quince)

I can't say for sure whether the fruits on the tree are growing so big due to the variety, or the warm climate with a long growing season.

The tree is growing in almost solid limestone soil.

Overall I would say this is a fruit regular people could enjoy if cut very thin and served with some savory dipping sauce (which is the traditional way this fruit is enjoyed in some parts of Latin America).
It might not be something most people would get extremely excited about, but it has a different enough sort of flavor that it could be worth growing, especially for those who like to grow unusual and exotic fruit.

I did cut the Crimea up, boiled the pieces in water for 5 minutes, then seared the pieces in a pan with butter and honey and served them to a 7 year old boy who apparently enjoyed the snack and said they were good, without being asked. This was when the fruit was still smaller sized and less ripe.

I also did find a very large Aromatnaya quince at a Persian market. The fruit was huge and better quality than an ordinary quince, to the point that I could almost eat it raw. I even handed a thin raw slice to a family member who normally does not have much enthusiasm for quince or trying things like that, but even she said she considered it edible and "almost like apple". (It still, I would say, was not quite up to the level of edibility raw as the other special quinces described above but it was close) It ended up being baked into a delicious dessert with pears, to the point that one could almost not tell at all which pieces of baked fruit were pear and which were quince, the flavors all melded together. (I did boil the quince pieces in water for 7 minutes before they went into the dessert to bake, to be sure they would be fully cooked and end up a similar consistency and texture as the pears)
The Aromatnaya might have a little less intense flavor and aroma than other normal varieties of quince, but despite that I would say it is a very good quality variety, and much more on the side of being "edible", if not cooked, or especially if not cooked very long. For cooking in a dessert, I would say that the Aromatnaya may be preferable to the Karp's Sweet, since it is a little more "substantive", might have just a little more flavor, but the Karp's Sweet may be a little better for eating raw, almost "crispy" (for a quince) and "refreshing".

I would not say they were extremely so much different from each other, however. What I mean is that if you have tried a fully ripe Aromatnaya, cut it into thin slices, and you cannot imagine it to be "edible" or do not think it is good, then you are not going to like Karp's Sweet either.

The Karp's Sweet that I tasted (which again, could have been a little more ripe) I really could have imagined to be like a less ripe Granny Smith Apple, except with more acidity (maybe just the tiniest bit mouth-puckering), and a little quince aroma.

BloomAndSprout:
Thanks for the info. I would have had fruit this year, quite a bit, if rust did not completely mess up the new growth on my tree this very rainy season. I will have to spray religiously next year. Hopefully next year I can report on my Karp's.

SoCal2warm:

--- Quote from: BloomAndSprout on July 13, 2025, 09:52:11 AM ---I would have had fruit this year, quite a bit, if rust did not completely mess up the new growth on my tree this very rainy season. I will have to spray religiously next year. Hopefully next year I can report on my Karp's.

--- End quote ---
As I said before, quince can be very difficult to grow, prone to disease, in hot humid climates like the U.S. Southeast or Gulf Coast. Arkansas (where you are) would not be the best place to grow it, I would imagine.

Quince prefers a climate that is not too humid in the summer, although it can handle humid summers better if it is growing farther north, like New York, Maine, or Michigan.

It doesn't seem to be bothered in Western Washington state, where it's only rainy and humid during the cold part of the year. Though I did notice the tree could be susceptible to rust in early May because it was so wet, after leaves were on the tree. But that was only because, I believe, a neighbor had just used a chainsaw to cut down a hedge row of Leyland Cypress, which sent fungal spores flying in air (the rust disease has a life cycle that alternates back and forth between pear-apple-quince and cypress). I spent a lot of effort treating and spraying the rust, and thankfully after the third year it did not come back.

corymbosa:
In November 2024 I was able to purchase a couple of pounds of some very large fruit (much larger than quince sold in stores and seen growing in people's yards) with a tapered oval shape and the characteristic fuzz. They were perfectly edible raw IMO but did have a decently high pectin content. After discussing these particular fruit and the homeowners' location I bought them from, I was told that this variety was likely the Karp's Sweet, although I can't confirm unless the same seller offers them this year and I speak with them - I'll try to this November.

Anyways, after gathering the seeds and stratifying for about a month in the fridge, I was able to get almost 100% germination on the batch and potted them out. I now have about 18 total, with 9 in the ground. The ones put out in full sun directly from sprouting (Jan 2025) have shot off and the largest 2 measure approx 56" tall with a base stem witdth of 1/2". They have just started to branch out as well.

If anyone else has experience growing Quince from seed I'd gladly appreciate it, and if anyone would like one of the potted quince in the SoCal/Ventura county area let me know.

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