Recipe: Membrillo - Quince Paste
2 lb quinces
1 lb sugar
juice one lemon
Wipe the fur off the quinces, quarter,
and cut
out core but leave skin on. Steam in a little water till soft.
Rub fruit through a sieve. Boil sugar and 1/2 cup water,
stir until dissolved. Leaving it simmer (carefully) will
make a darker syrup. Then add it to fruit and stir. In a
shallow open dish, microwave on medium, or half power until the
paste is thick - about 40 minutes.
The liquid bubbles and thickens, changing from yellow to
pink. (One of the magic and delightful aspects of quinces.) |
Scrape the edges into the middle and stir
occasionally.
It is ready when you can turn it with a spoon and it stays
glued together. If you want to put
it into containers and keep it spreadable, now is the time to do it.
Put it onto greaseproof paper and shape it into squares,
about 25cm / an inch thick.
Dry it for several days in a warm place. The top right picture
shows it spread on a plastic sheet in our food dryer
which is then left overnight. You can also use a barely warm oven for a few hours.
Drying improves its shelf life, but you can of course eat it
soft. Store in greaseproof paper or foil
in an airtight container, or in the fridge.
If you've a sweet tooth, serve with coffee and it's a great
substitute where you might use Turkish delight.
Fred Harden
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