A quince is a lumpy, golden-yellow fruit that looks like a cross between an apple and a pear but tastes completely different from both. Unlike apples or pears, you can't just bite into a raw quince: it's rock-hard, sour, and so astringent it makes your mouth pucker. But here's where it gets interesting: when you cook a quince with sugar, something almost magical happens. The pale flesh turns a beautiful rosy pink or deep amber color, and the fruit becomes sweet, fragrant, and delicious.

For thousands of years, people across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have made quinces into jellies, jams, and pastes. In Spain and Latin America, a thick, sweet quince paste called membrillo is served with cheese. The ancient Greeks and Romans loved quinces so much that some historians think the “golden apple” in Greek mythology was actually a quince.

Today, quinces are less common than they once were, but they still grow in backyard gardens and specialty orchards, waiting to be transformed from hard, sour fruit into something wonderful.