Quince or Quince Substitute?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Being blessed by an extra bit of okra I thought to assay Paula Wolfert's Lamb Tagine with Quince and Okra.  But when I went today to buy a quince I found they do not exist here.  Is there an internet source of quince?  Yes, I have looked, and I found one in Australia.  Any source in the US maybe, perhaps?

 

Some say to substitute pear or apple for quince but that does not sound quite right.  I fear that by the time I find a quince the okra will have rotted.  This does not seam fair.

 

I also found an internet source of quince trees, but I do not have that kind of time.

[sartoric]

I'd try using some quince paste with a really firm not sweet pear, although it might throw the sugar balance out

Is quince paste easy to get there ? It's popular here with cheese.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I can't say it's popular but I believe the paste is obtainable.

 

[Lisa Shock]

Check Mexican/S.American grocery stores. They often carry the fruit and the paste. The fruit is just starting to come into season and may not be shipping quite yet.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have a South American friend who grew up with quince.  She said if I can find it to please let her know.  California quince may not yet be quite in season but quince from somewhere in the world should be.  My local store has all sorts of exotic fruit half of which I don't know what it is.  But no quince.

 

[ElainaA]

@JoNorvelleWalker  Is there a Wegman's near you? They usually have quince paste and also quince. I don't know where you are in NJ but I know there is a Wegman's in Princeton. It is possible, I guess, that quince is a seasonal item but I have seen them regularly in Wegman's here. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The Princeton Wegman's is about seven or eight miles from here...too far for me to get to.

[ElainaA]

 Distance is such a relative thing! My nearest grocery store is almost 7 miles away. I've been know, occasionally, to drive that far for ice cream.

[Franci]

I also grew up with it, maybe the most typical jam in my house.

I can find them -when in season- at Whole Food and farmers markets.

But in the past I found a website called "Vermont Quince" making all things with quinces maybe try to contact them to see it they sell a case.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I went googling and the Vermont Quince information does not seem to be up to date.

 

[blue_dolphin]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I went googling and the Vermont Quince information does not seem to be up to date.

 

Did your emails to them bounce back?  They have a Facebook page with recent posts that lists this phone #: (802) 365-1056

[JoNorvelleWalker]

No, I did not try to email.

[pastrygirl]

If the recipe calls for fresh quince, maybe  a really green (under-ripe) pear would be close?  Quince are pretty hard and astringent before cooking and sweetening.  It's probably still a bit early for the quince crop, I think of them as coming in in October or November, though of course each year varies and a lot of fruit has been early this year, at least in the NW.