Quinces and Co

[Joanbunting Profile]

The quince season in very early this year -like the vendage.

I have access to several trees and I always make quince jelly, paste and marmalade. Quinces were in fact the ingredient of the first marmalde from Portugal. Useless fact of the day

I also use them in a number of savoury dishes and a quince version of Somerset apple amber.

Any other suggestions appreciated.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I am waiting for them to appear in Turkish Food Centre, where they sell them reasonably priced by the kilo, for some reason local shops sell them individually

I intend to make jelly and membrillo (quince paste or cheese)

I might also have a go at a quince liqueur, as nobody ever seems to drink vodka in this house, there's a bottle that has been here for several years untouched, and I brought some lovely ratafia de coings back from the Correze that I will emulate

I put them in tagines and in a pork and cider casserole

When you say Somerset apple amber what exactly do you mean? I know apple amber (no obvious connection with Somerset) as a sort of cross between an apple pie and a lemon meringue pie, think it goes back to Mrs Beeton

[Uschi Profile]

Quince liqueur is delicious.
You need 1 kg of quinces and 1.5 litres of Schnaps (if you can get it 45% is great, but 38% will work, too).
And a large Kilner jar.

Peel and core the quinces and blitz them in the kitchen machine. Add a little lemon juice.
Then pour the mix into the Kilner jar, add an open vanilla pod and the Schnaps.
Close the jar and shake well. Place it in a sunny and warm place for six to eight weeks and shake it once in a while until a few days before you want to decant it. Try it and if you find it not sweet enough, boil a little sugar in white wine until it has dissolved. Add this syrup until the liqueur is to your liking.

Carefully move the jar to the place where you want to decant it a day before the deed so the sediment can settle. Use a small piece of rubber hose to syphon it into bottles, making sure the sediment isn't disturbed.

Store the liqueur in a coolish and dark place and it will be wonderful for ages.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Thanks Uschi
That sounds doable

[Uschi Profile]

The thing is that one has to work quickly once the quinces are shredded or they will turn brown even with a little lemon juice.
Come to think of it, I didn't use any in my later offerings since it didn't help that much.

[Alexandria Profile]

Joanbunting,

Fabulous topic.

Quince, pomegrantes, tangerines / mandarines, oranges and lemon season in Spain are about to arrive.

I prefer quince with savoury. I use Quince with roast pheasant or roast quail, red wine & chestnuts ..

On rare occasion, I have "membrillo" ( quince fruit paste ) with fresh cow White cheese as a dessert at a Peruvian Restaurant we go to every couple of months .. I personally find it a bit too too sweet .. However, if one is making it at home, one can surely adjust the sugar content ..

Have a lovely weekend ..

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Quinces were in fact the ingredient of the first marmalde from Portugal. Useless fact of the day

Quince = English
Membrillo = Spanish
Marmelo = Portuguese

And yes, marmalade came from the Portuguese. Quince jam, basically.

We underestimate the Portuguese. They founded the first colony in Goa, India, and were most likey responsible for introducing chiles, potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, green beans and squash to Asia.
They also brought the mango and the tamarind to South America.
Wonderful people, too - Venezuela is full of expat Portuguese. We couldn`t survive without them.

[Alexandria Profile]

Quinces were in fact the ingredient of the first marmalde from Portugal. Useless fact of the day

Quince = English
Membrillo = Spanish
Marmelo = Portuguese

And yes, marmalade came from the Portuguese. Quince jam, basically.

We underestimate the Portuguese. They founded the first colony in Goa, India, and were most likey responsible for introducing chiles, potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, green beans and squash to Asia.
They also brought the mango and the tamarind to South America.
Wonderful people, too - Venezuela is full of expat Portuguese. We couldn`t survive without them.

Karadekoolaid,

And their 365 cod fish recipes no doubt .. I love Lisbon and we travel over every year for a week or so.

Vasco da Gama sailed to Goa, India and from what I have heard, the hotels, cafés and Pousadas are still named in Portuguese and the Saint Francis Cathedral or Basilica is still in tact in Goa ..

I am a grand fan of Portuguese cuisine .. They have quite a repertoire of pastries too that are simply incredible ..

I have a Portuguese Nurse, neighbor downstairs and she is lovely ..

Have a lovely day .. I was in Brazil many years ago ( 1978 University Graduation ) when we travelled extensively through South America.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

By chance, I have visited both of Vasco da Gama's graves, he was first buried in the little church in Kochi, Kerala just south of Goa. He was then moved to the cathedral in Belem, just outside Lisbon. Doing it by plane is one thing, on a tiny sailing ship another!

[Lusciouslush Profile]

We underestimate the Portuguese.

We certainly do - clever little so&so's got everywhere.

Macau is an island off Hong Kong I visited in a previous life - it was a Portuguese colony until fairly recently & vary unique - definitely not on the tourist radar - or it wasn't then anyway - the food was some of the best I've tasted - a mixture of Portuguese & Chinese & more wines on the menu than Lisbon!

I haven't seen any quinces yet - I do like quince & apple - a friend makes quince gin, a bit like sloe gin - same method, but uses the small round inedible ones.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Coing in French and couduna in Provencal.

I neighbour makes a quince appero. She uses home distilleed alcohol but you can get Alcohol pour fruits in the supermarket.

Quince paste is often served here with cheese.

Sue, correct about apple amber. Pastry base filling a apple puree thickened with a couple of spoonfuls of marmalade sugar to taste and the yolks of 2 eggs. The white then whipped to make meringue and used as a topping just like lemon meringue pie.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Yes, that's how made apple amber, but we added lemon to the apple layer and just used ordinary white sugar.

It was the reference to "Somerset" that confused me

[Alexandria Profile]

By chance, I have visited both of Vasco da Gama's graves, he was first buried in the little church in Kochi, Kerala just south of Goa. He was then moved to the cathedral in Belem, just outside Lisbon. Doing it by plane is one thing, on a tiny sailing ship another!

Stokey Sue,

The Cathedral of Belem ( or tombs of Vasco da Gama ) is an amazingly incredible monument and the statue of the Navigators is incredibly impressive.

Interesting however, that the same was done with Cristóbal Colón ..

Have a lovely evening ..

[Lusciouslush Profile]

Having a bit of a tidy-up over the w/end I came across this which I'd earmarked for a bit of a gathering - haven't made it yet but it does look good....................

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/membrillo-a ... uiche-shop

[Joanbunting Profile]

Lush, That looks , well, lush!

I would love to try it but what could I sustitute for Stilton?

[Sakkarin Profile]

I know zero about quince - my only ever purchase is some quince jelly which has sat in the cupboard for eons.

Given that I've been on my Korean food quest for some months now, I was amused to find that Quince Tea is a Korean speciality. That's passed me by until now! Found it by accident whilst checking the ingredients of gochugang earlier.

Recipe (not much of a recipe, it's basically sugar and quince):
https://modernseoul.org/2014/11/28/how- ... a-at-home/

Jars of it readymade:
https://starrymart.co.uk/daesang-quince ... gJQmPD_BwE

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Recipe (not much of a recipe, it's basically sugar and quince):
https://modernseoul.org/2014/11/28/how- ... a-at-home/

It would help if the blogger
A knew how to slice thing
B. Didn't try to make it stretch over a dozen pics

I might give it a go, not liking tea or herbal teas I am often stuck for a hot drink in winter, as there's only so much intense black coffee I can consume

I might also get some "Tourist tea" (Turkish apple tea)

I wouldn't peel the quinces, not easy and I think a lot of the scent is in the peel, as with some apples, to which they are closely related

[Lusciouslush Profile]

I would love to try it but what could I sustitute for Stilton?

Roquefort would be a good sub Joan, in fact when I re-read the recipe my first thought was roquefort would be lovely in it - I'm a big fan!

I can't believe how many recipes I've gone thro' going back years - mostly all cut out stuff - some really cracking ones by non celeb chefs that I'll definitely be trying out again - & it was meant to be a cull - no chance, they're mostly all back in the files!

[Joanbunting Profile]

I considered roquefort but it is sheep cheese and much much more salty than Stilton. Just hasn't the same feel for me, I'm thinking perhaps something like Bleu de Vercours.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

The saltiness is precisely why I would like the Roquefort - the contasting flavours would do it for me.

I 'm sure any bleu cheese of choice would work - you have plenty to choose from in france.