Quince Cheese

The quince’s heyday in Britain centred in the 16^th and 17^th centuries and the first quince preserves originated way back in Roman times. The Ancient Greeks associated the quince with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and it was believed that it was the forbidden fruit that lured Eve in the Garden of Eden.

So the quince’s glory days may be long gone, but there has been something of a revival in recent years and rightly so, as these fruit are versatile and well-worth picking up if they can be found. Surprisingly the trees fare very well in Britain - my sister has one, which grows very happily in her garden in York and produces the most delicious tart and fragrant quinces I have had.

The quince comes from the same family as apples and pears, but is eaten exclusively once cooked – the raw fruit has a bitter flavour and tough flesh. They have a distinctive tart, perfumed flavour that works very well with all sorts of meat. I ate it with belly of pork once, which brilliantly cut through the richness of the fatty meat. It can be roasted or poached until tender and eaten for pudding with Greek yoghurt, added into a fruit tart or pickled. 

Most commonly quince is eaten as a paste-like preserve - Quince Cheese, known in Spain as Dulce de Membrillo. The Spanish tend to eat Membrillo with hard cheeses such as Manchego. It can also be cubed, rolled in sugar and eaten as a sweet, or added into savoury recipes to add a degree of tart sweetness. Nigel Slater suggests using it as a fruity alternative to marmalade to glaze a roast ham.

This recipe takes a bit of patience, but is absolutely worth it and makes a great present. The only difficulty is to know when to stop the cooking, as it can become tough and gluey if taken too far. I made it when I was in Spain, and was lucky enough to be given access to a neighbour’s tree. We ate it outside in the sun, with a big salad, some Jamón and a hard sheeps cheese from a charming local shop.

Quince Cheese

Ingredients:

1.5kg Quinces

Juice 2 Lemons

Approx 1kg Granulated Sugar

Wash the quinces thoroughly, scrubbing to remove any dirt or blemishes. If the quinces are furry, this is a sign that they are under ripe. Chop into segments and add them - skin core and all - into a large saucepan. Pour cold water into the pan, until the fruit are just covered, add the lemon juice and bring to the boil. 

Note: Keeping the seeds, skin and core on the quinces when cooking will add to the flavour and increase the amount of pectin, which will help it set.

Simmer for a couple of hours, or until soft and almost falling apart, then push the soft quinces through a sieve until all that is left is the seeds and skin. 

Measure the quince purée and pour it back into a clean saucepan. Then add 450g sugar for every 500ml of purée. 

Stir until the sugar has dissolved and bring to the boil. Then you will need to stand and stir constantly for around 30 minutes or until the mixture is a rust red colour and leaves a clean line when you pull a spoon through it. 

This takes patience and a radio will help. Watch out though, as it can spit and easily burn your arms – rubber gloves are a good idea.

Prepare suitable moulds – I used loaf tins, lined with foil and oiled lightly. You can also use sterilised and oiled kilner jars, or any shape mould you wish but make sure you will be able to turn out the paste at a later date. Pour in the paste and leave to set. Seal when cold. This can be kept for up to a year.