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| Quince |
As promised, (Quince - the versatile fruit), here are those quirky-looking quinces poached. Delicious served with a ginger or other spiced cake, or simply with yogurt of crème fraiche, or added to winter fruit compotes. In my previous post I mentioned how Northern Europe grown quince could be disappointing as the climate is not perfect for them. The ones I used this time were UK grown and the flavour was certainly inferior to the Southern European ones I have bought in the past.
2022 Update: Presumably due to climate change, the flavour of the UK grown quince is now just as good, I think
This easy recipe is inspired by one from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse café and restaurant in Berkeley, California.
This easy recipe is inspired by one from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse café and restaurant in Berkeley, California.
2023 Update: I have made a change to the recipe which is now reflected in the recipe below:
Poached Quince
To keep the fruit submerged in the syrup while it cooks, cover the surface of the poaching fruit with a round of parchment paper and weigh it down with a saucer. Simmer slowly until the quinces are tender (45-60 minutes - depending on the variety of quince). When the fruit is tender but not falling apart, stop the cooking. If the syrup is thinner than you would like, remove the fruit then boil down the syrup until it's the consistency you want then return the fruit to the syrup before bottling.
Poached Quince
400g (14oz) caster sugar
1.2 litres (2 pints) of water
1 kilo (2lbs) quinces (4-6)
½-1 vanilla bean
2 slices of lemon
1.2 litres (2 pints) of water
1 kilo (2lbs) quinces (4-6)
½-1 vanilla bean
2 slices of lemon
Wash the quince well, rubbing off any fuzz. Quarter, peel and core and slice the quarters into inch thick wedges. Immerse in a bowl of water acidulated with lemon juice.
Place all the trimmings (plus any you have which you don't want to preserve - quince can grow in odd, gnarly shapes) in a saucepan and cover with 1.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 30 minutes until you get some good pink colour to the water. Sieve out the trimmings, saving the water.
Combine the sugar and 1.2 litres of the water in a large pan, bring to the boil, and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the sugar syrup. Add the bean pod, lemon slices and the drained quince wedges to the syrup. Simmer gently.
To keep the fruit submerged in the syrup while it cooks, cover the surface of the poaching fruit with a round of parchment paper and weigh it down with a saucer. Simmer slowly until the quinces are tender (45-60 minutes - depending on the variety of quince). When the fruit is tender but not falling apart, stop the cooking. If the syrup is thinner than you would like, remove the fruit then boil down the syrup until it's the consistency you want then return the fruit to the syrup before bottling.
The poached quince will keep, submerged in the syrup, in the fridge for 3-4 days or ladle fruit and syrup into clean sterilised jars, following the manufacturers instructions, if you want to keep the poached quince for longer.
