#quinces

Quinces on a wooden fruitbox - Rutger Hiemstra

Dutch , b. 1975 -

I've helped Opa harvest the apple-quinces today. Also, the remaining Alexander Lukas and Countess of Charneux (spelling?) pears :)

We've had some quinces sitting in the kitchen window since @dduane made Quince and Golden Plum Tart...

...for the Food & Cooking of the Middle Kingdoms project.

That was back in mid-October, and though the quinces showed no sign of deteriorating or even getting much softer - quinces are extremely solid fruit - we both decided it would be better if they didn't see in the New Year with us.

So DD went looking for another recipe, found this one - Quince Crumble Tart - and lo!

That delicate rose pink occurs naturally when quinces are cooked, and becomes darker with longer cooking - see marmelo / mimbrillo / quince paste / quince cheese for an example of how dark it can get.

A few notes:

This recipe doesn't mention peeling the fruit. Using a stick-mixer then sieve may negate any need to peel, perhaps even adding extra pectin to make the filling set firmer. However, we both agreed that our quinces were past their best, so peeling was a good idea.

DD decided to cook them in half-water / half white wine rather than mere water, Just Because.

175g is a lot of sugar, and seemed likely to drown the delicate quince flavour. We used 60g and should have used even less.

However, these old quinces may have been sweeter than fresh ones, so "use less sugar" is a suggestion, not an instruction. As with any seasoning, TASTE FIRST. You can always add more, you can't subtract too much.

“Go in the direction of where your peace is coming from.” ~ C. Joybell C.

Still life with pumpkins, and quinces Oil on cardboard