Quince

I love the letter Q. It's terribly old fashioned. From another time, this fanciful letter. You might think it queer, but I find it quixotic. Sure, quip about it, I'll take my Q and stand on the quay in the queue and ponder my quandary. You can quote me, or remain querulous.

If I had been born about 4o years earlier there is no doubt I would have ended up a typographer.

The letter Q is held high by the mysterious quince. Who is she? Where did she come from? Who created her? Her scent is magnetic, alluring. A shape, like nothing else. Compared to the apple and pear, quince posses all the traits of both but bring something else to the table. Venetian masks, a mistress's assured wit, hands for playing cards and breaking locks.

Few people can describe quince. One must taste it; simmer it on the stove for hours, turn hard and inedible to soft and nibby, watch pale yellow-white turn to deep pink. Quince as Orlando.

The quince, she doesn't lay down too easily. One needs a good peeler, a heavy dose of patience, a very sharp knife, a patch of cheesecloth and a few hours at home. Quince is packed with pectin, and will produce a satisfying amount of end product if you have the time to take to get to know her.

Many people, perhaps afraid of her pure bewitching perfume, pollute a quince pot with cinnamon, lemon peel and/or orange peel. I prefer her deep magenta taste and keep everything but perhaps a scant sliver of vanilla bean from co-mingling. If you are finding yourself in your kitchen with quince for the first time I beg of you: Keep It Simple. How will you make deep eye contact with this lovely if you bring overpowering scents on your first date with her?

What I do is simple. I wash and dry cotton downy fuzz from skin, top and bottom with knife, peel as I would a pear or apple and core. I keep all these shavings and innards and wrap them in a cheesecloth pouch. Depending on what I will eventually use the finished quince for, I slice or only quarter the quince. I drop these pieces in what I consider more than enough water-- like if I were boiling potatoes, plus a bit more. I acidulate the water with fresh lemon juice. I submerge the cheesecloth pouch in, keeping it loose like a tea bag so liquid can wash through it easily. Then I pour a generous amount of sugar in and turn the heat on low-medium. If I have a lot of fruit pieces in the water, I might make a little round parchment "hat" so that the quince jutting out above the water line do not turn too brown. (Cut parchment in a large circle and flatten to surface of liquid.)

Need a recipe? I don't really use one, but how about these proportions...

For every 1 large quince, 3 Cups water and 1 Cup sugar, 1/2 lemon squozed.

But please, be my guest and make necessary guesses, adjustments, tosses, flings, dashes, or quirk in quantity.

I like to cook the mixture slow and low until I see the fruit turn pink and get tender. The proportion of water:sugar will create more or less quince jelly at the end. If you are wanting a quince spread, pull out the food mill and/or the food processor. If you didn't have time to peel and core every last piece you can cook the quince in more liquid than you need and food-mill the fruit to hold back the hard bits.

The quince seeds are plentiful but held together like caviar. The ancient roots of this "original fruit" are boldly visible when prepping it. Take note that the hard shell which envelops the pips is really quite hard, like a fish scale. No matter how much you cook the fruit, your mouth will not want to encounter this, so be thorough when removing it.

I find that whatever I make with quince, if I keep it in a tight lidded glass or hard plastic container in the fridge, it will keep for months!

Quince is wondrous paired with pork, foie gras, small poultry, toasted rye bread, cornmeal, pears, apples, Meyer lemons, tangerines & mandarins, raspberries, pomegranates, bitter greens, nuts, buttery pastry, and just about any cheese. Spain's Membrillo is quince paste. And, so I have been told by many a Mexican person I've worked alongside, there is a quince varietal that can and is eaten out-of-hand, but I have never been to Mexico so I cannot say this from first-hand experience.

I found these quince on a tree in my neighborhood. If you are getting yours from the market, pick ones as yellow as you can find them. Unless they are cold you should be able to smell their perfume strongly.

Take the time one lazy Autumn afternoon, and you will have quince's siren-esque scent and ineffable taste for days to come. Or place them in your lingerie or sock drawer, as the French and English once did.

Where I go, and have always gone for quince inspiration: Jane Grigson's Fruit Book.

Comments

[Calichef]

My grandmother used to make quince jelly when I was a kid. I was often enlisted in the picking and washing, but never the peeling or cutting as it was just too dangerous for a little kid. I remember always being disappointed that they weren't suitable for eating before cooking, but being amazed at their unique flavor after cooking. Oh, and the fact that they changed from that bland, pale yellow "apple flesh" color to a glorius shade of pink made them seem magical.

My grandmother was a gawdawful cook, but she sure could make jellies, jams, pickles and canned fruit. I'd kill for a jar of her pickled peaches right about now.

[Meredith]

Re: Quince from out of hand. Oooh, tart! I've had it raw plain but I hear its consumed with salt, a squirt of lime and a cervaza. I love quince too, cooked though.

[Helen]

I loved my mom's quinc jelly and I love stewed quinces or quince tart but I was shocked to find out they were $1.99 each (gasp) at the grocery store here in SC. I can't wait to go home for Christmas and fill up.

[Kate]

Well, that tears it. I'm going to go quince hunting up here in the Great White north and see if I can add "Quince Jelly" to my winter larder. (I'm also interested to see how well some cooked quince stands up to my favorite vegan upside-down cake recipe. I just don't know how well it'll go with the maple syrup that is the cake's only sweetner...)

[ann]

where can I buy quince jelly in the Bay Area?

[shuna fish lydon]

Hello Ann--

You may be able to get quince spreads through June Taylor. I can't guarantee jelly per se, but whatever she makes with quince is divine.

There is also a woman who sells preserves at the berkeley farmer's market-- now is the season, so good luck!

If you yourself are intersted in making such a thing, quince can be found at Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Market: east bay, Bi Rite and Rainbow: SF.

[ann]

Thanks Shuna.

[cookiecrumb]

Shuna, you quazy wabbit.
That was good.
Thang Q.

[Rachael]

Well, heck, Shuna. I'm a crazy knitter/writer who has just discovered your mother's writings recently, and then her publisher told me about you, and here you are, blogging in my hood, hanging out in my areas (pics of the Lex and maybe, was that the Wild Side in one?), being Queer with that lovely Q.
Also, your writing is gorgeous and now I'm hungry. Thanks.

[shelly]

Loved the alliteration :). See ya Sunday.

[Rachael]

Ive been cooking with quince all week, and weirdly, not a one has turned pink. Freaked me out a little.

Yours look perfect, so Im glad to see I wasnt imagining that was suppopsed to happen!

[Luisa]

Jane Grigson.....yesssss.... Love her.

[tbtam]

Shuna-

Can I ask your advice? I was going to make (and post about)an apple quince pie for Thanksgiving. I though I would use this filling from Karen Zuckerman's recipe for apple qince tart -

3 large quince (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and chopped into 1/3-inch cubes

8 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup sugar

4 medium apples (1 3/4 pounds), somewhat tart.

For the crust, I have a great pate brise recipe from Pleasures of cooking that I always use.(http://theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com/2006/04/tart-pretty-enough-for-song.html)

I was going to do both a top and bottoim because I will need to make it ahead and freeze it to being to family on Thrusday.

Does this sound okay to you? My biggest concern is whether a filling meant for a topless tart needs to be modified for a double crust pie that will be frozen.

Any advice or suggestions will be much appreciated (and of course, blogged about...)

[shuna fish lydon]

tbtam.

Apple pies with double crusts, I think, are better than open faced ones. But something concerns me-- I don't think you will get the most out of your quince if it expected to cook at the same rate of the apples.

I would pre-cook those quince pieces so that more of their scent comes through in the finished pie.

Also, pies love to be frozen solid before entering the hot oven!

Hope this helps-- let me know if you need more.

[Janet E. Brown]

Lovely! I'm always trying to find substitutes for apples, which I love, but to which I am allergic. Pears don't usully bite back quite enough, so, I'm planting my quince tree this weekend. I can't wait to have some in the yard and kitchen.
Meanwhile, since I had never tased a quince, I got some fabuluous Greek quince preserves and MY Deli. I couldn't believe my senses. A rose is a rose is a quince!
I can't remember the resourse that brought the orinin of apples, pears, and quince all back to their relationship to the rose, but that connection explains to me that amasing flavor and aroma of the quince. Insted of seeing them as apple/pear thingies, I think of them as gihugic rose hips.
Peace,
Janet

[Carole Knowles]

I have just today made Quince Jelly for the first time it was so easy and looks divine and has glorious pink colour the kitchen still has the lovely aroma.

[pamela cox]

I have been using quince for years now & have done everything with them. But I can not find any methods for dehydrating them in my machine? Help needed, please.

Hello Pamela Cox, dehydrating a fruit that needs to be cooked to be edible is very difficult. Sugar is hygroscopic which means it attracts moisture. You may want to try cooking quince in a brine, slicing it thin and then dry it out. If anyone has any other methods I'm sure they'll answer your comment as well. ~ Shuna