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Quince

Posted by Elise on Nov 11, 2006

Filed under Produce

Quince

Have you ever eaten a quince? The first time I had quince jelly I couldn't believe how such a peculiar looking hard yellow fruit (like a slightly squashed pear) could yield such a fragrant, delicate, pink jelly. Quinces cannot be eaten raw, they are too tart. But the tannins that cause the tartness in the raw fruit mellow when cooked (and turn the fruit pink). Cooked, a quince transforms into something lovely.

Quinces used to be more popular than they are today; you often can find an odd small quince tree growing in the yard of an old house. But people don't can as much as they used to and unless you've actually had something made with quince, you don't know what you're missing. Many thanks to Jennifer of Sacatomato for helping me find a local grower (Otow Orchard). The quinces here are just now coming in. Here are some ideas for what you can make with them:

Simply Recipes

Quince Jelly
Membrillo (quince paste)

Quince Recipes from More Food Blogs

Rosey Poached Quince - Cookbook author and dessert connoisseur David Lebovitz reminds us to be careful when cutting these hard fruit.

Poached Quince and Poached Quince in Muscat and Spices - from Though small, it is tasty.

Poached Quince with Vanilla and Cinnamon - the The Wednesday Chef.

Poached Quince - from PlacerGROWN via Sacatomato.

Quince Jam - from Fethiye of YogurtLand.

Quince with Rosemary and Pine Nut Topping and Quince, Rum and Lime Sauce - Ilva of Lucullian Delights.

Quince and Blueberry Crumble Cake - by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once.

Slow Cooked Whole Quince - Brett of In Praise of Sardines explains why the quince turn so red when they are cooked.

Quince-Raisin Tarte Tatin - from Christine of Christine Cooks.

Quince Tarte Tatin from The Serendipitous Chef.

Sugared Quince Paste - Michelle of an Endless Banquet uses the Chez Panisse fruit cookbook.

Paste of Quinces, or Pâte de Coings - Carolyn of 18thC Cuisine pulls out a recipe from 1716 Paris.

Membrillo to pair with Manchego cheese from Nicky of Delicious Days.

Dulce de Membrillo - Melissa of The Traveler's Lunchbox cooking from "The Basque Table" cookbook by Teresa Barrenechea.

Quince Pomegranate Cranberry Compote - from Viv of Seattle Bon Vivant.

Indexed: Quince

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23 Comments

I was thinking of using them in your chicken and apple quesadilla recipe you posted (with the quince in place of the apple.) Mmmmm....

Posted by: cakegrrl on November 11, 2006 1:03 AM

Hi Cakegrrl - Oh, that would be interesting. You would need to cook the quince slices first though. Or maybe just add a quince chutney to the quesadilla.

Posted by: Elise on November 11, 2006 1:11 AM

Elise, you cannot believe how many people like eating them raw in Turkey ;) I should stop by the Otow's to get some, they are doing a great job!

Posted by: fethiye on November 11, 2006 7:21 AM

Hi Fethiye - Apparently they grow a different variety of quince in Turkey which can be eaten raw. The quinces you would find here however must be cooked.

Posted by: Elise on November 11, 2006 8:34 AM

Thanks for including my recipe!

Posted by: ilva on November 11, 2006 8:54 AM

I found this site when looking up Medlars, there's a lot on how they used to cook in the old days (I found it looking up Medlars). www.historicfood.com Quinces Recipe

Posted by: Sherri on November 11, 2006 10:53 AM

Elise, wow so cool to see someone else post about quince. I made an amazing squash bread pudding with roasted quince and Italian sausage this week. Today I am processing a bunch of quince for preserves for my farmer and contemplating quince empanadas and other recipes since I have an entire box of them.

Posted by: chrispy on November 11, 2006 11:22 AM

We're on the same page, Elise...I just bought a bag of quinces (or is it quince?) today!

And I can't imagine eating a raw quince. I saw someone do it in California, but I suspect he spent the rest of the day trying to replenish the saliva in his mouth...

Posted by: David on November 11, 2006 11:52 AM

My husband and I love to make little sandwiches with a slice of quince paste [guava is even better] in between two slices of fresh white cheese - the Mexican queso fresco does well.

I loved the idea of a quince tart tatin! :-)

Posted by: Fer Guimaraes Rosa on November 11, 2006 6:06 PM

This is so interesting, I've never had a quince in my entire life. Now I want to try it!

Posted by: Christine on November 12, 2006 12:36 AM

My friend knows to prepare chicken with nuts quince and coriander . It was very tasty. A little peculiar but testy. When I experimented with this fruit Prepared quince jam from Fethiye of YogurtLand recipe. Wonderful taste.:)

Posted by: home cook on November 12, 2006 8:27 AM

I have never heard of Quice fruit. Sounds interesting. I live in Pasadena, TX where can I find some.

Posted by: Dana Breaux on November 12, 2006 5:50 PM

My family has always eaten quince raw. We slice is very thin and add a little sprinkle of salt. It is definitely tart but tasty!

Posted by: maggie on November 13, 2006 8:10 AM

I recently baked quinces to eat with vanilla ice cream. Lovely!

Heat oven to 325. Wash and halve quinces, carve out pits. Thickly butter a baking dish, sprinkle on 5-6 tbsp brown sugar. Add a dollop of butter and tsp of brown sugar to each pit cavity. Place quinces cut side down on butter and sugar in dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Eat hot with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Posted by: SML on November 13, 2006 10:54 PM

I am in Maryland and have asked numerous fruit vendors and have not located a source of quinces. Does anyone know a source?

Posted by: Geoffrey Clark on November 14, 2006 9:15 AM

Last year I took David Lebovitz's advice and left a quince in my car as an air freshener. And it worked great: for several months my car had a delightful--and all natural--fragrance.

Posted by: Marc on November 14, 2006 11:05 PM

Love quince! Especially when made up as quince butter...like apple butter. Great on buttered toast!

Posted by: Dr. Judy on November 15, 2006 12:25 PM

In searching for recipes using quince, I found this site - I have oodles of quince this year from what started out as one tree taken from an extra from my sister's yard next door, and now have several trees. There's two ways that I fix them and both cooked in the microwave. One is to wash them and core them, put brown sugar in them and bake them like apples, in a baking dish with some water in it. Delicious! Also, sometimes I wash them and cut them up in cubes and cook them in a baking dish with water and also brown sugar. Now, I have some other ways to fix them - thanks a lot!

Posted by: Carol M. Ormsby on November 15, 2006 6:24 PM

Some great ideas here. I'm currently living in Spain with my Spanish husband and membrillo (a kind of quince jelly) is VERY popular here. It's lovely! I couldn't imagine what it was and so did a little research on quince. Apparently, it used to be very popular in the US too, mainly New England, but the trees were susceptible to a tree disease of some kind. I'm excited to try out some of these new recipes here. By the way, to the lady in Pasadena, Central Market on Westheimer in Houston, near the Galleria, carries these during the winter.

Posted by: beth on October 2, 2007 12:37 PM

Posted by: Ginette on November 8, 2007 1:07 PM

I came home last night with a box of quince determined to do something with them. I clicked on the first web site listed, Simply Recipies, and was surprised to see my family's farm stand listed as a source for quince. This season at Otow Orchard we have the best looking crop of quince that I can remember. And we haven't sprayed any pesticides for two years. I chose to make the Dulce de Membrillo recipie on the Traveler's Lunchbox site. Wow, Wow, Wow and fantastic. I put in about 2.5 hours working on this delicious result. I cut my quince candy into over 50 little pieces. The ones that I can keep from myself and my family I will give out as samples at the farm stand. Thanks to Elise for this wonderful resource.

Posted by: Chris on October 6, 2008 5:09 PM

I have been a quince lover for years, made all the usual quince dishes, Pastes, jellies etc

BUT want to know how to dehydrate them in my machine. no recipe available, does anyone know?
I have tasted them, incredibly delicious.

Thanks in anticipation.

Posted by: pamela cox on April 1, 2009 4:22 PM

Who says quince can't be eaten raw?

I do and I love it, the more sour it is the better. Usually with lime juice, chili powder (chile piquín) and salt, yum!

I actually hate sweet quince.

Some varieties of quince are edible raw. Most would cause your mouth to pucker up so much it would be hard to eat. ~Elise


Posted by: Carlos on June 8, 2009 3:49 PM

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