News Release

Membrillo Harvest 2021

Date: October 4, 2021
Contact: Anita Badertscher, 520-377-5064

It’s time for the membrillo (quince) harvest! The fruit is ripening in the park’s heritage orchard and soon will be ready for use. All fruit produced by Tumacácori’s trees is given away to visitors through sampling of the fruits or their products. This fall, visitors are invited to “savor history” by trying their hand at cooking a traditional membrillo treat.  

On Saturday and Sunday, October 16 and 17, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or until the supply is gone, park staff will be on hand in the orchard to give away freshly harvested quince fruits. Visitors are invited to take home a recipe’s-worth of quince. A recipe for dulce de membrillo will be provided.  

The fruit cultivated in the orchard provides an opportunity for visitors to experience the foods and cultural traditions of this region. Agriculture was an integral component of O’odham culture prior to Spanish colonization. Crop varieties such as fruit trees and wheat, introduced by Spanish settlers and missionaries, transformed the diets of indigenous people and the natural landscape.  

After the inhabitants left the Tumacácori Mission community in 1848, the fruits and vegetables in the neglected gardens and orchard slowly died off. The vision of reestablishing an active garden and orchard began in the 1920’s and 1930’s, but it wasn’t until 2007, with the planting of Tumacácori’s heritage orchard in a corner of the mission’s original orchard grounds, that this dream became a reality. The heritage orchard provides staff and visitors with an opportunity to reflect on, honor, and preserve the culture of the people who lived in the mission community. The fruit cultivated from the heritage orchard is a part of history that you can see, touch, smell, and taste.     

Tumacácori National Historical Park is located 45 miles south of Tucson and 15 miles north of Nogales. Take exit 29 from I-19 and follow the signs. For more information about this or future events call Tumacácori NHP at 520-377-5060, or visit the park website, at nps.gov/tuma.