Quinces

[jackal10]

It was part of eGCI Autumn Preserves unit

[jgarner53]

If my quince paste is more orange than red (let's call it "orange-red" in the Crayola box), does it mean anything? It sure tastes good, no matter what color it is!

[jackal10]

If my quince paste is more orange than red (let's call it "orange-red" in the Crayola box), does it mean anything? It sure tastes good, no matter what color it is! 

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It means you didn't overcook it as much as I did, or were more patient and ccoked it at lower temperature...

[Swisskaese]

I had Quince Tarte Tatin at Lechem Erez in Tel Aviv. It was very nice. They made individual tarts with half of a quince.

My fiance makes a chicken tagine with quince and dried fruits. He doesn't really have a recipe per se, he just makes it up as he goes along.

[whisks]

we are in the midst of quince season and i have bought myself 4. having never cooked them before and having heard of their delicious attributes, i seek everyone's expertise on the fruit. thank you.

[Aphra]

I bought four quinces today, not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.

I particularly like them simmered in red wine, sugar and spices (cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and lemon peel).

Peel, core and slice them and then let them cook gently until they turn ruby red and the wine has gone a little syrupy.

Then serve warm with lots of thick cream.

I love quince jam, I made quince ice-cream a long time ago which was wonderful, and I remember a recipe for quince tart with browned butter which was delicious, but I don't know that I still have the recipe.

[Margo]

There's a recipe I like for braised cabbage and quince with a sweet-sour braise (white vinegar, sugar, water or stock), flavored with soy, ginger, and ground coriander in Chris Schlesinger's "Big Flavors of the Hot Sun" cookbook. It makes a good side for pork tenderloin or pork chops, with rice.

[John DePaula]

I like to substitute quince for half of the apples in a classic American Apple Pie. The quince give the pie an amazing perfume.

[persiancook]

Quince jam is lovely, and very easy to make.

I would also recommend quince and prune stew. We make it with lamb, but beef or even chicken would also be delicious. The quince and prunes complement each other wonderfully. A little orange zest perfectly rounds out the dish.

[athinaeos]

I would also recommend quince and prune stew. We make it with lamb, but beef or even chicken would also be delicious. The quince and prunes complement each other wonderfully. A little orange zest perfectly rounds out the dish.

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In Greece we prepare quince stew with beef and pork. I have tried it once with wild boar that was marinated in red wine for 24 hours, and the boar, wine and quince flavors were quite harmonious together.

[suzilightning]

poach with peppercorns, sugar, lemon zest and juice then i use to do a duck breast with quince dish - about half the quinces and some of the sauce finishes the sauteed duck breast . serve with some rice and garlic green beans. then the rest of the quinces and sauce over vanilla ice cream - possibly served over gingerbread

[John DePaula]

Quince jam is lovely, and very easy to make.

I would also recommend quince and prune stew. We make it with lamb, but beef or even chicken would also be delicious. The quince and prunes complement each other wonderfully. A little orange zest perfectly rounds out the dish.

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Oooo... that sounds wonderful. You wouldn't happen to have a recipe for the stew, would you?

[TarteTatin]

hubby makes a Tarte Tatin (of course), with quinces...Yum.

[Smithy]

How do you know whether a quince is ripe and good to buy? I know they'll be hard, because they have to be cooked to soften. In the past I've tried using the smell test but not been able to smell much; the quinces I tried seemed vaguely apple-and-pearish, but not out of the ordinary. The same held true when I cooked them, and I was left wondering what all the fuss is about. Still... the color is pretty when the quinces are cooked, and quince paste is wonderful stuff.

I don't know whether I'm expecting too much, buying the wrong fruit, or don't have access to good fruit because our produce buyer doesn't know how to get the good stuff. I'd appreciate pointers and thoughts from those of you in the know.

[pansophia]

The fantastic deli near my office has a sandwich that inroduced me to quince and fast became my favorite. It had quince paste, manchego cheese, and serrano ham. Great cold or even slightly better as a warm panini.

I"m planning to experiment with the same combo as an appetizer of some variety.

Yummmmmy!

[Pontormo]

And what should I do with mine?

I am posting this thread here rather than in the baking forum since I am more interested in a method involving, say, poaching, than baking in a pastry or a pie.

But I am open to any suggestions.

This is a new thing for me. I'm interested in pairings or ideas for combinations of flavors.

There's no cream in the house, but there's home-made yogurt, wine, pork, chicken, lamb, pears, a pomegranate, grapes, apples, winter squash, the usual sugars and spices...

[alanamoana]

just about anywhere you'd use apples, you can use quince. they do, however, need to be cooked/poached/roasted to make them edible.

i would think they'd pair very nicely with pork

cooked with red cabbage

you can make a homemade membrillo (quince paste) to eat with cheese

[andiesenji]

You can make quince preserves, which can be used in both savory and sweet applications.

Quince preserve or jam is actually the original marmalade - from the Portuguese word for quince, which is marmelo.

Quince recipes, especially Greek recipes!

Cheese with quince jam is delicious. I prepare pizza dough in small rounds, top with slices of cheese (fresh or young cheeses) and dollops of quince jam. I slide them onto the hot baking stone with my oven set at 500 F. and they cook in about 7-8 minutes. On a sheet pan that is not heated, they take about 15 -18 minutes.

Quince have a lot of pectin so just sugar and lemon juice is all you need to make preserves. In small batches, store in the fridge.

You can poach quince, freeze the pulp and make preserves with it later.

[Eden]

poach them in red wine (Beaujolais ) with little sugar, a cinnamon stick & a vanilla bean husk for about 20 minutes then add pears & poach for another 10 minutes or so.

Quince sorbet is also spectacular as the pectin really helps the texture.

[Pat Churchill]

A while back I made some quince sorbet but actually the spiced cooked quince it was made from also went very nicely with roasted pork.

[Chufi]

If you have Paula Wolfert's Slow meditteranean kitchen, make the slowroasted Turkish quinces.

They are cooked in the oven for 5-7 hours with no other flavorings then lemonjuice and 2 cloves. i made them recently and they came out as the best I ever prepared.

I think the flavor of poached/roasted quince is so strong and special, that I don't like to do much with them, but rather eat them as they are maybe with a little joghurt and some biscuits for dessert.

They are also really good in a lamb tagine, the same way you would use prunes. With flavorings of cinnamon, honey, and a sprinkling of sesameseeds.

[Swisskaese]

I make a chicken tagine with quinces in the same manner that Chufi describes. I have also sprinkled pomegranate seeds on top before serving.

[paul o' vendange]

just about anywhere you'd use apples, you can use quince.  they do, however, need to be cooked/poached/roasted to make them edible.

i would think they'd pair very nicely with pork

cooked with red cabbage

you can make a homemade membrillo (quince paste) to eat with cheese

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Agreed. In my mind, there is nothing quite like the aroma of quince - intensely floral, pear and apple. When I smell it, I am in my favorite time of year, the fall.

Just a few of the many things I love to do with quinces:

I love to poach them in a sugar poach (with a scraped vanilla bean). I often then caramelize them with a touch of brown sugar and butter, (easy) flame with Calvados, and serve with pork (braised shanks with red cabbage and quinces, or pan-roast, double-chop, with parsnip puree and quinces).

I also served a fall charcuterie with, among other things, moulard or muscovy duck prosciutto, brioche and quince jelly; also, seared foie gras with same accompaniment.

Or a quince tarte tatin.

Edited November 12, 2006 by paul o' vendange (log)

[alanamoana]

i'll bet a quince mostarda would be fantastic also. don't have experience making it, but it sounds like it would work well.

[BarbaraY]

The onl things I've done with them is to make jelly and a Persian lamb stew.

I really don't understand why we don't use them more often. They must have been very popular here at one time because there are a good number of trees in the area, some quite old.

(Reminding self to go check the place where I get them for the picking.)