# Quinces



## brreynolds (Apr 26, 2001)

A friend of mine bought a house with a quince tree. [If I could figure out how to copy over that little green smiley that's jumping up and down, I would put it here.] Quinces go for about $2 apiece in my local grocery store, when you can find them at all. We're really 6 months from this being a pressing need, since they are a late fall fruit when in season, but I am the impatient type. Does anyone have any good quince recipes?


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

Cube them (small-ish) and sauté them with butter, sugar, lemon and vanilla beans. Drop a teaspoon on a wonton skin with a little glob of mascarpone and a piece of candied chestnut. Seal and deep fry. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. They add a great element to a fall dessert or on their own as a miniature.

That's just one idea but they are so versatile in both sweet and savoury applications. The French have a great number of uses for them. Maybe Bouland would have some more ideas...


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Quinces are a beloved fruit of Greeks 

Did you know that "The Golden Apples of Hesperides", one of Hercules Labours, were actually quinches?

As Anneke said, we use them both in desserts and in food.

Numerous Greek dishes include quinces. Preserves , marmelades, casseroles ( especially pork with quinches, or in roullades)

Diane Kochilas in "Glorious Foods of Greece" includes the following recipes:

Leeks stewed with quinces
stuffed with ground lamb
in sweet mustard

If you are interested in anything of those I will be glad to post them for you


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

In her book, _Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables_, Elizabeth Schneider has several for using quinces. Besides several for conserves, she has:
Chicken Baked with Quinces
Stew of Quinces and Lamb with Saffron and Split Peas
Quince and Almond Tart
Quince Paste Candy _Membrillo_
Quince Cordial[/list=1]

I'll post if you're interested.

BTW, I remember reading somewhere that the apple the serpent gave Eve was really a quince. Hmmmmm.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

A beautiful combination of tastes and textures is membrilla and monchego from Spain, with a Rioja or douro.

Of course with a fine loaf of bread


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

brreynolds,

You'll find some wonderful recipes for quince here:

Many more to browse Quince Recipes.

Quince recipes from Food Down Under.

Many more to browse here and here.

To use the "Smilies", when you compose your post, just click on the icon you want to use and it will automatically be placed in your message.

:bounce:


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

I don't think I ate quince before. Now I just have to try Anneke's recipe.


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## anneke (Jan 5, 2001)

brreynolds,

Quince's primary charactaristic is that it is probably the fruit with the highest amount of pectin, and therefore lends itself well to cooking and preserving. Quince jam is a classic. 

In France they make "Pâte de Coing" or Quince Paste which is essentially jellies. Just cook the cored/peeled fruit in water for about 45 minutes until soft. Press the fruit through a sieve. Return to the cooking liquid and cook down until it sets on an ice cube. Add confectioners sugar, roughly 2/3 or more of the volume. Spread out on greased sheets. Sugar the top and press another greased sheet on top. Let set. Cut desired shapes and toss in a bag of sugar to coat evenly.

Quince is a perfect match to game meats, especially fowl. Cubed or parisienned, sautéed in butter, finished with sugar (or other sweetener), it makes a great accompaniement.

Funny how such versatile fruit can be so horrible raw... Too bad they are so expensive around here. If you have too many, just send them north of the border!!


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## brreynolds (Apr 26, 2001)

... thank you for the offers to post recipes from those two books, but what you've done is pushed me over the edge and convinced me to buy them. I've been aware of the books for some time, and they looked interesting, but as I was trying to be a good boy, I had held off on them. Oh, well. Jessica's Biscuit, here I come.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I will post some ancient recipes to the Repast from the Past forum!


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## risa (May 11, 2001)

I know it's not the right season, but I bought a couple of quince yesterday. I rarely see quince in the stores here, so it was a chance to taste fresh quince. The sales clerk thought they were apples and charged me lots less. I noticed it when she was ringing up the sales and I didn't say a thing. Now I feel a little guilty.

I'm planning to try one of the quince recipes in In the Sweet Kitchen.


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## pongi (Jan 11, 2002)

I too have posted a recipe in the quince thread to the Repast from the past forum. Although ancient, the recipe of the "Cognà" (a Piemontese fruit relish containing quinces) is still used, and delicious.

Pongi


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Quince Pancakes 
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN

2 quinces, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. butter, melted; plus additional 
butter for frying
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Confectioners’ sugar

Place quinces, sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer over medium heat until quinces are tender and liquid has almost entirely evaporated, 30–40 minutes. (Quinces will scorch if water evaporates too quickly; check occasionally and add more water if necessary.) Transfer quince mixture to a food processor and purée lightly so that mixture remains chunky. Allow to cool.

Place quince purée in a large bowl and stir in milk, melted butter, and egg. Sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, then add to quince mixture. Stir just until blended.

Melt a small amount of butter in a skillet over medium heat. (Cook pancakes in batches, melting more butter in skillet as you go.) Pour about 2 tbsp. batter in skillet for each pancake, allow room for batter to spread, and cook until bubbles appear, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until brown, about another 3 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I have the following problem.

I have a new quince tree in my yeard and it produced so many fruits that a branch broke :-(

I picked the fruits but they are not so riped yet. I wonder if the trick with the newspaper* will work. It does perfectly with tomatos.
Any ideas on how to help those quinces ripe?

* fold each piece of fruit with a piece of newspaper!


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