It's time for quince, perhaps the most underrated treasure of the autumn season. It's hard not to wax a little poetic about quince, but we'll try to restrain ourselves and just tell you, in plain language, why you should pick up a few of these as soon as you can.
It's Time for Quince!
Quince was my principal food crush of last year; it was something new for me, and a total revelation.
Quince tends to be a revelation by its very nature; it is a rather ugly, knobbled green fruit, with a gray fuzz all over it — like a deformed apple afflicted with mold. But its scent betrays it; there's a wonderfully aromatic sweet smell that comes with a ripe quince. It's definitely inspired more than its fair share of poetic rapture among food writers.
The fruit, though, needs some help to get from its bitter, sour, puckering initial state. Quince needs to be simmered in sugar (we add spices too) and magically it turns from a grayish-yellow fruit into a rosy, tender, and magical fruit. The taste of cooked quince is something between apples and pears, with a tropical hint of pineapple. We can't get enough of it.
The secret locked inside quince makes it feel romantic and tantalizing for us; we can hardly wait to find it now, and we're going to jar up a lot of it to carry us through the winter.
Have you ever tried quince? What is your favorite way to eat it?
More quince:
• Look! Can You Name This Fruit? - The first part of Emma's quince saga.
• Quince Report: Good News and Bad News - The rather sad end.
• Quince Ratafia: How To Make Fruit Liqueur - A recipe for quince liqueur.
• Recipe Report: Quince Ratafia - How the liqueur turned out.
• Quince and Fig Cobbler from Top Chef Stephanie Izard
• Weekend Recipe: Quince and Apple Tart - (pictured just above)
• Good Question: Quince, Forgotten Fruit with NY Roots
• Tip: Easy Peeling Quince
(Images: Faith Durand)
Tags
Ingredients - Fruit, Fall, fruit, quince, ingredient spotlightRelated Links
- Handle with Care: Early Summer Delicacies
Hollywood, California - Found Food: Do You Forage for Food?
- Look! Can You Name This Fruit?
- The Perfect Fruit by Chip Brantley
Book Review 2009 - Flavor Inspiration Board: Raspberries and Lemon
Share
Comments (11)
Weekly Email
Top Posts
Top Recipes
- Appetizer Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
- Two Cocktails for Thanksgiving
- Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Nutloaf! And Leftover Nutloaf!
- Recipe: Ginger Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
- DIY Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Latte (Just Like Starbucks!)
Top Tours
- Joe and Kristin's Warm and Cozy Craftsman Kitchen
- Before & After: Kelly Moseley's Calming Austin Kitchen
- Rachel's Busy Single Girl's Kitchen
- Kitchen Gallery: White, Bright, and Clean
- Karen's White and Green Urban Cottage Kitchen
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Quince paste from Chez Panisse Fruit. The perfect compliment to cheese or alone with tea.
view lemontart's profile
I made my own membrillo yesterday took a long time but I think I have enough for a year or so! Delicious! Plus, it makes great (and impressive) gifts. Next time you go to a party don't bring a bottle of wine, bring things that go with wine! Homemade membrillo, candied pecans, a granny smith apple and some manchego. Perfect.
Quince was $1/pound at my farmers market yesterday (I've been bugging the one guy I know who has some to bring them in!). Get lots! It cooks down.
view yse's profile
I started cooking with Quince last year too...my favorite so far was roasted with olive oil and garlic, instead of potatoes. Fabulous with pork!
view msmezzo's profile
*sigh* Isn't this fruit from the Adam & Eve story? I buy quince every year and don't know what to do with it and eventually it goes bad. Maybe I'll look at those links and be inspired to try again.
view tasterspoon's profile
A farmer down the street from my grandmother's used to grow quince and leave a few large paper shopping bags of them on her doorstep every year! I'm pretty sure there are a few jars of canned quince lingering in her basement from the 80's somewhere.
view gage's profile
Quince and lamb stew is one of the best fall dinners I can think of.
I'm going to try to make quince butter this year--maybe mixed with a few apples...
view sjbreeze's profile
We make a fantastic spiced quince jam from Christine Ferber's "Mes Confitures". I love that book so much -- it's completely transformed how I make jam. The quince recipe is a bit involved, but worth every second. I also like quince slices poached in a simple vanilla syrup over yogurt.
view MayaOnFiya's profile
I read about the marvelous quince a lot, but I cannot find it near me. I live in Connecticut. Is quince just not sold around here or does anyone have inside knowledge for me?
view Emily G.'s profile
i just made a quince ricotta and apple tart. 1st layer: quince compote/jam (cook quince down in butter with lemon zest cinnamon and nutmeg) spread on tart crust 2nd layer whole milk ricotta mixed with german style cream cheese, egg, sugar and lemon zest top layer sliced apples sprinkled with pats of butter and sugar.
view Luke's profile
I love quince! I made 2 quarts of "quincemeat" and 6 jars of jelly a couple weekends ago. I also have several cups of "quincesauce" in the freezer which I will be making into quince butter when I have more time.
view charise's profile
I tried my first quince this week and maybe I didn't make it right. I poached it and it didn't turn pink or red. It tasted okay but nothing I couldn't have gotten from a pear. Maybe I need to try cooking it a different way.
view graciela's profile