294483 Sat Oct 18 22:20:10 -0700 2003 21 31 Home Cooking 0 1615197 I just got a case of quince (40 count) at work and I'm going to cook some of them down into jam. Does anybody have any favorite recipes (including jam)? Thanks in advance! Sat Oct 18 22:20:10 -0700 2003 0 Miss G 1 1615212 Make jelly, not jam. Quince jelly is both tasty and lovely to look at, which quince butter/jam is not. While you're at it make quince syrup, too (thin jelly). Very good on pancakes, french toast, etc. Sun Oct 19 09:34:48 -0700 2003 1615197 0 Sharuf 1 1615226 Another good one if you get tired of canning and cooking and eating is to make quince brandy -- wash the quinces well, cut into quarters or eighths, and put them in a big jar and fill to the top with brandy. Add a half a cinnamon stick, and a teensy piece of star anise if you like (it can have an overwhelming flavor). In six weeks, you'll have a lovely flavored digestif. Sun Oct 19 13:18:56 -0700 2003 1615197 0 Caitlin Wheeler 2 4095922 Sounds like a good idea. I have way too many quinces. Do you store it in the fridge? Fri Oct 10 11:21:46 -0700 2008 1615226 11231 Glencora 1 1615234 Quince Marmalade, French Provincial Cooking, Elizabeth David: "It was from 'marmelo,' the Portuguese name for quince, that the word marmalade came into the French and English languages. "Rub the fruit with a cloth to remove the down; put it in a preserving pan and cover completely with cold water. Simmer until the fruit is soft enough to pierce with a thin skewer; don't let it cook until the skins break. Extract the fruit, and when cool enough to handle, peel, slice and core it. Return the cores and the skins to the same water in which the fruit has cooked, and boil until reduced by about a third, when the juice will have just begun to take on the characteristic cornelian color of quince jelly. "Strain this through a cloth. Weigh the sliced fruit; add its equivalent in white sugar. Put the sugar and fruit, together with the strained juice, back into the preserving pan and boil gently until the fruit is soft and translucent and the juice sets to jelly. Skim off any scum that has risen to the surface before turning off the flame. Put into warmed jam jars, cover with a round of paper dipped in brandy and tie down when cool." I myself would go to the trouble of a boiling-water bath for the filled jars. I don't pooh-pooh quince butter the way Sharuf does, either. I just opened a jar that I got as a gift and it is ambrosia. Good luck! Sun Oct 19 17:31:11 -0700 2003 1615197 0 heidipie 2 1615255 It's the appearance of the lovely jelly that beats the jam/butter version. An esthetic preference. Flavor-wise they're probably equal. Mon Oct 20 05:26:36 -0700 2003 1615234 0 Sharuf 1 1615269 I've made jelly from quince poach that has been used 2 or 3 times.Reduce it Slowly,and you will obtain a deep red,delicious jelly.I make poach by boiling the peel and cores in water,then strain out the juice;add sugar and some white wine for acidity...and poach the quince slowly,at a low simmer.Jam has to be made the same way-by very slowly cooking the sweetened puree,stirring,stirring,until it becomes thick.Quince contains a lot of natural pectin,and jells quite a bit on its' own. Mon Oct 20 08:39:14 -0700 2003 1615197 0 M.K. 1 1615301 Lucky you! A quince grated into an apple pie adds a lovely flavor. Quince cheese--what the English call sort of solid sliceable jam--is also heavenly (make it the same way you do jam--just cook it a lot longer and thicker.) Any apple jam/butter/jelly recipe if you add a few quinces is in fantastic. Mon Oct 20 11:29:30 -0700 2003 1615197 0 divstudent 1 1615351 Make applesauce, add a few quinces (and pears). The result is wonderful. Flavor with a little cardamom and nutmeg, I think. See Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (I think that's the title). Mon Oct 20 18:40:36 -0700 2003 1615197 0 Timowitz 1 4094757 Quince Curd is divine, I found this Australian recipe last year at http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s1372527.htm. It is too yummy, if you're inclined toward curd! Just don't think about the calories. Thu Oct 09 20:41:30 -0700 2008 1615197 142145 czyha 1 4095579 I peel, core, slice, and poach in sugar syrup with sweet spices and am always happy. Also saw a recipe where the poaching syrup was cooked down into caramel: http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/11/quince-carame-1.html Fri Oct 10 09:06:14 -0700 2008 1615197 13445 Louise 1 4095804 Lucky me, I found a quince tree and stocked up a few weeks ago. I made a lovely jelly with bits of fruit from Jane Grigson's Fruit book. The recipe isn't very exact, but here's what I did: Roughly cut 4 quinces, including all seeds and skins, etc., and put them in a pot. Take about 4 really good quinces, peel and core them. Add the cores and peels to the pot. Fill the pot with water just to cover the chopped quinces, and lay slices of the good quinces on top. Boil. When the nice pieces of quince are completely tender, gently take them out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Boil the rest of the pot ingredients down to rubble, till the pieces are falling apart. Use a potato masher to help along if you want. Strain the juice. Measure it out, and for every 600ml juice, add 500g sugar. Put the nice quince pieces back into the pot with the juice and sugar, and boil till set. Divide the fruit among sterilized jars, cover with jelly and seal. I also added a little cinnamon (stick) and a few cloves with the sugar. Turned out really well. Fri Oct 10 10:37:26 -0700 2008 1615197 14139 Kagey 1 4095911 I actually just saute them as a side dish for meat and roast chicken. The fragrance they release is divine! Just half, core, slice thinly and saute in olive oil untill you see them browning nicely. I also add a pinch if sugar and sometimes a pinch of cinnamon. Lucky you! Fri Oct 10 11:19:04 -0700 2008 1615197 21854 galka 2 4095925 I do that, too. Great with lamb and couscous. I also make quince chutney with ginger and raisins. Fri Oct 10 11:23:07 -0700 2008 4095911 11231 Glencora 1 4095992 Oh, I love quinces! I've been collecting quince recipes for a while. I really like this Epicurious recipe for quince-apple-pear crostata. I make it with equal parts of each fruit, but you could double up on the quince, or even use all quinces (though the mixture is really nice). http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PEAR-APPLE-AND-QUINCE-CROSTATA-232818 This quince pound cake recipe looks good, too, though I haven't tried it yet. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/QUINCE-POUND-CAKE-14625 And I heartily endorse the quince liqueur idea. A few years back, I made quince-infused vodka with a vanilla bean and a bit of cinnamon (1/3 stick per quart?). I stuck the jars in a dark, cool cupboard, and managed to lose one of them. I just discovered it - it's still lovely three years later! Enjoy your quinces, Anne Fri Oct 10 11:48:18 -0700 2008 1615197 12541 AnneInMpls 2 4096060 I love quince, too. I have tried the quince pound cake recipe on Epicurious. It was delish, again don't think about the calories! Last year I canned/bottled some of my quinces with the intention of using them in the pound cake recipe and saving myself the poaching step when I did so. Haven't done it yet, but quince ideas are whirling in my head as I just picked about 30 lbs of quince from my neighbour's tree - she doesn't use them! Does anyone have an easy way to get through the prep? I've heard of cleaning and freezing or roasting or microwaving them before starting to chop them. Has anyone else tried any of these prep methods and what was your experience? Last year I tried simmering them first, which was effective, but time consuming. In the wee hours this morning I thought maybe I'd just cut chunks off around the core and use that fruit to make membrillo and preserves. Then chop the cores and attached fruit to make jelly. Thoughts? Fri Oct 10 12:16:04 -0700 2008 4095992 142145 czyha 3 4117669 Well I am just experimenting. However, I have taken a bunch of the fruits, stood them on end on a large cookie sheet, baked them at 350 for about 30-40 minutes until softened. Then I took one of those large apple corers that slices and cores at the same time and took out the seed core, which I put in a pot with some left over sweet wine and boiled to get a thickening agent for jam. As I write I have taken some of the slices and put them in a quince crisp, with the peeling left on. I am going to see whether you really have to peel the damned things. Even if you do, the softened slices are easier than the whole hard fruit to peel. Mon Oct 20 21:45:53 -0700 2008 4096060 233750 RuthP. 4 4117693 Report on my experiment: Okay, the peel on is sort of country cooking--a bit grainy. Fine cooking would require the peel off. I am too busy with too many quinces to worry about the peel and will leave it on. Mon Oct 20 22:05:26 -0700 2008 4117669 233750 RuthP. 5 4117823 Thanks, baking them first really helps and is soooo easy to do. I only baked for 20 to 30 minutes, but perhaps my quince were smaller. Once the quince were cool, I peeled them and then sliced around the core. The nice large chunks will be poached and bottled/canned. The smaller bits were made into membrillo, drying as I type. The skins and cores I boiled up for jelly, which turned out great. I didn't slice too close to the core because last year I ended up with grainy membrillo, not a nice mouth-feel. A friend and I just picked another 100 pounds of quince from the tree! I've taken a week's vacation to do this now. Ruth, do you have a recipe for your quince crisp? Cheers, Carolyn Tue Oct 21 01:18:58 -0700 2008 4117693 142145 czyha 1 4113360 This thread delights me-- I think I just finally located a local source for quince. I love quince applesauce and poached quinces with a little greek yogurt on the side. Now I'm dying to do a lamb and quince stew with a Moroccan flavor to it. Does anyone have any recipes along those lines? I think quince and shallots would be really nice alongside of a pork roast, too. Maybe deglaze the pan with some wine, sherry vinegar?? Sat Oct 18 15:43:31 -0700 2008 1615197 64882 Vetter 2 4166899 From Paula Wolfert, lamb and quince tajine: http://www.paula-wolfert.com/recipes/okra.html Wed Nov 12 06:23:01 -0800 2008 4113360 12618 erica 1 4113598 Apple butter with quince is so good! A couple years ago, a friend and I made it and canned it. On a whim she suggested putting some quince in and it turned out to be a favorite. I never use the same recipe twice for apple butter so I don't have any good recommendations. Sat Oct 18 19:05:59 -0700 2008 1615197 52306 upstate girl