NEW: Yesterday’s Seasonal Pantry featured three quince recipes, all perfect for this time of year. Find them here:
Quince Compote with Orange Zest & Pomegranates A delicious addition to your holiday table
Chicken with Quince, Riesling & Raisins
And for everyone who has requested the recipe for membrillo, here’s the direct link: Membrillo (Quince Paste)
To understand that it is quince season, all I have to do is look out my window at my enormous quince tree, laden with heavy fruit slowly turning from Pippin-green to yellow. I’ve got three huge basketsful waiting for my undivided attention.
Quince, ready to be picked
Quince made its first appearance–that I’ve seen, anyway–at farmers markets last week and you’ll probably be able to find them for several weeks.
If you are unfamiliar with quince, here’s the deal. From a distance, this tree fruit looks a bit like a huge slightly-misshapen apple. Yet even when ripe, it is harder than apples and quite tart.
Quince is packed with pectin but deficient in sugar: This is not a fruit you want to munch on raw, as nearly all varieties are too acidic, too sour to enjoy this way. Quince makes good jam and good chutney and it is delicious sliced, sauteed in butter and wrapped in dough for strudel. It is also a traditional ingredient in Moroccan tagines. But its most classic use and one that is increasingly available in markets is quince paste, or membrillo. Because of its high pectin content, quince that has been boiled with sugar sets up firm and sliceable. You find it throughout Spain, served alongside Manchego cheese.
I’ve been making membrillo for years, since my tree matured, though I confess that in some years I just don’t have the time. In the years when I’ve been too busy, I’ve given my quince away, including one year when someone used it to make wine. In years when I am able to make it, it takes me a single day to make enough to give away as holiday gifts and to have on hand until the next crop ripens. As I prepare to turn my current crop into quince paste, I still have half a dozen jars left from last year.
Serving Quince Paste
One of the most traditional ways to serve quince paste, which is known as membrillo in Spanish, is with Manchego cheese. Simply bring a wedge of cheese to room temperature and serve it alongside a small piece of quince paste.
Serve quince paste as a condiment alongside roasted pork.
Serve quince paste with feta cheese, pomegranates and a small mound of greens dressed lightly with olive oil, red wine vinegar and black pepper.
Quince paste is excellent with crisp bacon; let your imagination guide you.
Here are two recipes from the Seasonal Pantry archives. An upcoming Seasonal Pantry will include recipes for quince and raisin strudel and a tagine that includes quince.
Wine-Poached Quince with Rosemary
Homemade Membrillo (Quince Paste)
