the confession

I have a confession to make. The quince paste I was in process of making yesterday turned out to be a nothing but a mound of goo. What a waste. It was totally my fault, I was trying to hurry it along before I had to head off to work (work is really getting in the way of my blogging efforts). But anyway, the quince had been simmering until fork tender, put through a food mill, and then back to the stove to get finished off. The recipe said it might take up to 1 hour. “Perfect” I told myself. I had exactly 1 hour until I needed to head off to work. I stayed by the stove faithfully stirring the mushy mixture waiting for that final moment when it was supposed to turn that beautiful deep ruby-red color (it still looked like applesauce at this point). I stirred. And stirred. And stirred some more. The hour was almost up and I was debating about calling into work, telling them I would be late because my quince paste hadn’t turned the right color yet, but thought better of it. I was desperate. What to do?

Well, thankfully my sweet husband works out of the house and at that particular moment was on a conference call. I wrote down all the instructions as best as I could and stuck it under his nose. He looked up and I got the raised eyebrow. But the darling hubby that he is put on the headset and took up the spoon and tried his best to follow my cryptic note.

Even after the length of time I told him it would take and all his faithful stirring, it still didn’t turn that deep crimson color or become the sticky blob it was supposed too. Sadly, I had to dump it.

But today is a new day, and I still had some quince left (thanks to my compulsive over buying weakness). I found another recipe that had some beneficial tips that I am hoping will give me the success I so desire. Even now as I’m typing, the house smells lovely with the apple-pear perfume that the quince give off, and the last time I checked they were starting to turn into a rosy shade of pink. I’m hopeful.

So if all goes well, I will have success from all of this effort, and will gladly share the results.

By the way, if your wondering why the picture of the vanilla bean. The new recipe I’m using for the quince paste calls for a vanilla bean in the simmering liquid. I got distracted and started taking photos of it…

Until tomorrow,

Shannon

further developments

It's annoying to come across a recipe raving about the taste or beauty of something exotic or unattainable. I first heard about quince from the renowned Australian Le Dame D’Escoffier Maggie Beer. She makes an awesome quince paste that is imported from Australia that I found in a nearby specialty food shop. It is a reddish jello-like block or firm reddish paste. Once I tried it I was hooked. It is typically eaten in sandwiches or with cheese, traditionally Manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds and is delicious. The sweet , floral notes of the quince paste contrasts nicely with the tanginess of the cheese.

Although not everyone can find quince in their local market, they're not necessarily all that hard to track down. I actually found some at a Whole Foods market not far from my home. There were only a few, stuck in an odd spot off to the side. They look like a strangely deformed pear, and actually they are related to apples and pears. The immature fruit is green with dense grey-white kind of “fur”, most of which rubs off before maturity in late autumn when the fruit changes color to yellow with hard, strongly-perfumed flesh.

Most varieties of quince are too hard and sour to eat raw; mostly they are cooked before eating. They are used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavor. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the applesauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince.

Quinces aren’t all that easy to prepare. But like most things that we so desperately want, they take time and patience, and they take work. They are pretty darn hard to cut so be careful. They are about as hard as a pumpkin to get into, so it might be a good idea to steady it on a kitchen towel while preparing to stabilize it a little.

I have been baking, simmering and poaching quince this week, so stay tuned.  Who knows what will turn up.

Enjoy!
Shannon