May 21 2008
Queen Quince of the Kitchen
I saw a quince tree from a train window today. They grew in everyone’s yard when I was a child, next to the lemon tree, as much a part of the landcape as the Hills Hoist.
Where are the quince trees of yesteryear?
If you’re lucky you can see an odd Cydonia oblonga here and there, sometimes in an older house down in the country. But I’m afraid they’re on the way out.
Cooking a quince takes work and people don’t seem to fancy much of that these days.
For, although a quince looks somewhat like a pear, you can’t eat it like one until you cook it.
Some say that a quince is homely in a yellowish sort of way, and looks a little peculiar, rather bumpy and crooked but I think it’s beautiful. A quince is a very feminine fruit, voluptuous, with a delightful fragrance. The beautiful aroma of a quince sitting on your dresser fills the whole house. Forget the air fresheners and the scented candles.
Whatever you think of the look of the quince, magic happens when it’s cooked, for it transforms into the food of the gods.
Here are a couple of classic recipes from an Australian childhood.
Baked Quince
Baked Quince, called the Queen of the Kitchen, takes forever to prepare but it’s well worth it. You have to put it in the oven in the morning in order to have baked quince for dinner that evening.
Ingredients
2 large quinces
3-4 cups water
1 ounce (1 knob) butter
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 clove
1 apple
Method
Wipe the quinces over with a damp cloth to remove the fur.
Core and quarter them, really carve out that thick core and discard all seeds.
Put into a heavy casserole with butter and add sugar, water, clove and lemon juice.
Place into oven at 200°F (100°C) for roughly 7 hours until the fruit softens and turns pink or a deep warm red.
Serve with custard, clotted cream or vanilla ice cream.
Quince Jam
Ingredients
1.5 kilos or 3 1/2 pounds quince (2 parts peeled and seeded quince to 1 part sugar)
5 cups water (approx)
5 lemons cut in half
6 cups sugar (adjust to quince quantity)
Method
Wipe the fuzz from the quince skin with a damp cloth.
Quarter and core fruit.
Now chop up the quinces and place in a saucepan with the water and sugar. Add sliced lemons.
Simmer until fruit is quite tender, about 2- 3 hours.
Quince Recipes and more on the Quince
Like to shout me a cold beer?
Got a question on the quince jam. You say I need 8 kilos or 3 1/2 pounds of quince. Is this a typo or if we use 3 1/2 pounds do we adjust the sugar?
8 kilos is roughly 17 1/2 pounds
Let me know, ok? I love quince jam with cheese and I have a quince tree that feeds the birds.
OMG! Oh my word, it’s roughly 2 parts peeled and seeded quince to 1 part sugar, by weight.
A “Cup” is also a different measurement in many parts of the world
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You’ve been reviewd mate. Pity you didn’t mention in the article how good the jam is with cheese. It’s the only way to eat it, in my view.
that’s a handy recipe, think i will link to it off our blog! People are always asking us for quince recipes as we sell the trees! Gardening Express
used this recipie and going to add this to our blog do you have any for apple or pear cider.
I have more about this fabulous fruit at http://www.squidoo.com/quinces which has more recipes as well.
Cider? You asked about apple or pear cider. My grandmother used to make pear cider and I swear I have a recipe in an old exercise book which belonged to my mother. I’ll dig it out in the morning and have a good look through.
I’m keen on making some cider now, you’ve got me going ……
Thanks for sharing this information all this are of extreme use.