Find quinces in a Canberra kitchen garden

Places like Lanyon at Tharwa or Tanbella at Pialligo were mentioned and Penny Marr from Araluen said they had a beauty.

Artist and lettercutter Ian Marr, a quince lover and Penny's partner, said a couple in Braidwood had an old, high hedge of quince trees and they generously shared the crop with townsfolk. Marr invited us to his truck to see the initial lettering on stone, yet to be chiselled, of Tasting Notes for Chateau d'Yquem wine. Among them was the luscious yellow hue and, as he pointed out, quince has long been one of the tastes or aromas of some wines.

A Melbourne reader has sent me a clipping from the Australian Financial Review (May 20) in which wine writer Tim White described Cantina del Taburno Falanghina 2014 from Campania, Italy, as "deep, waxy-perfumed quince smelling". He said he has observed poached pear to quince-type characters in pinot noir.

I was recently given a jar of traditional Serbian quince preserve made by Jasmina Antic of Queanbeyan. I shared it with two good cooks both of whom thought it was absolutely delicious. It was amber coloured. This is Jasmina's recipe:

(GRATED QUINCES PRESERVED IN SYRUP)

1kg quinces, very yellow in colour with no holes

1kg sugar

l lemon

300g walnuts (or 2.5 cups)

Wash the fur off the quinces, dry the fruit, peel them, take out the core and seeds. As you peel each one, place it a a large container of cold water to which the juice of a lemon has been added.

When all the quinces are peeled, grind them. Place the sugar and 200 millilitres of water into a separate pot on the stove and boil to make a syrup. From time to time, take out a spoonful and, if the liquid falls in slow drops, like honey, after about 10 minutes, the syrup is ready.

Take the grated quinces out of their bowl of water and grind them. Jasmina uses an electric machine rather than a hand-held utensil.

Put the ground quinces into the syrup and shake the pot (do not use a wooden spoon) and bring the liquid back to a thick consistency, about 20 minutes to half an hour. Add the sliced lemon which stops the sugar crystallising. Turn off the heat. Add all the walnuts, cut into large pieces.

Soak a tea towel in water. Squeeze out any excess, and cover the pot with the tea towel while the quince conserve cools completely. Fill into dry, clean, sterilised jars and seal.

Makes about seven jars.

Our 365 Nature book giveaway (Kitchen Garden, June 15) which sought suggestions for big trees with edible bits, led to some interesting responses including stone pine, walnut and ginkgo. The winner is Silke Smaglinski of Campbell.

The most popular tree was the persimmon (Diospyros kaki). Landscape architect Catherine Keirnan from Tharwa named a persimmon in Limestone Avenue as one of her favourite fruiting trees in the Canberra landscape. She said it was in an innocuous front yard, was quite big with a lovely shape and always produced good fruit.

Readers may think that the persimmon is a recent addition to Canberra's gardens but in the National Library's Trove, The Canberra Times on July 21, 1956, has garden writer Sequoia recommending three varieties, 'Kurakume', 'Yeddo Ishi' and 'Yemmon'. Last week, garden history expert Dr Greg Johnson discovered that Sequoia was C. J. (Jack) Shakespeare (1901-1973), the son of the original founder of The Canberra Times.

More historic are the Yarralumla Nursery records for the Orchard which list three varieties received from Emerald, Victoria, on June 30, 1916. They are 'Dai Dai Maru', 'Haycheya' (sic) and 'Tanenachi'. In 1921 all were noted as having brilliant autumn foliage and 'Hachiya' (as it is correctly called) had produced 11 fruits.

In 2016, acorn-shaped, deep orange 'Hachiya', also known as 'Beekeeper', is described by Specialty Produce on its website as having ripe fruit that "feels like a water balloon resting in your hand".

Mujde Tahtali Cayir works in Yarralumla where a surrounding garden produces a good lemon crop but she loves persimmons and eats one every day. She provided a recipe that had been made by a friend who said the jam has a pleasant taste.

6 persimmons (hard ones not ripe)

3 cups sugar

1 cup hot water

3-4 cloves

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp butter

Wash and peel the persimmons. Dice them into small cubes, place in a saucepan and coat them with the sugar. Leave to soak overnight so the fruit soaks in the sugar.

The next day, add hot water and bring to the boil, then cook on low heat until thickened. Once thickened, add the cloves, lemon juice and butter and keep boiling for a minute. Put the hot jam in sterilised jars and close the lids tightly. Turn the jars upside down and keep them in a cool, dark place.