BS: what do we do with a quince?

Subject: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Nov 03 - 11:01 PM

"I'm tired of apples," my husband said. "See if they have any plums, peaches or nectarines." So I went to the grocery store, and they had 17 kinds of apples and one kind of quince. No plums, peaches or nectarines this time of year, apparently.

So I bought a quince. It is a lovely lemon yellow but quite hard. What do we do now? Wait for it to soften and become fragrant? Cut it up and eat it now? Cook it?

My only previous encounter with a quince was in Edward Lear's Nonsense Alphabet. I can't remember the verse about the quince, but I remember X:

X was once the great King Xerxes,
whom Papa much wished to know.
This he could not do, for Xerxes
died quite long ago.

(You have to put the accent on the second syllable of Papa.)

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Bill D
Date: 25 Nov 03 - 11:34 PM

eat it sliced, with a runcible spoon...(with some mince)

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:00 AM

Q was a Quince that hung
Upon a garden tree;
Papa he brought it with him home,
And ate it with his tea.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:01 AM

Forget the runcible spoon. The Owl stole it to eat hie grapefruit with.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:05 AM

Heres a couple recipes that sounded good from the following website: Quince Recipes


Quince Vodka

From: "Bill Bankes-Jones"

I'm going through a bit of a quince phase at the moment, & thought I'd pass on some recipes:

wash & rub off the fluff, then grate 2 entire ripe quinces, into a 1 litre jar. [Well worth dirtying the food processor for this.] Add 2 oz sugar, then cover completely with Vodka (or gin or brandy) and seal. Put in a dark cupboard for at least 2 months, shaking every now and again. Then strain, taste, consider, and add sugar if you like, bottle, & enjoy. (from Jane Grigson's book of fruit - full of other quince recipes.)

Quince stew

Fry 2 large onions. Add 2lb shoulder of lamb, beef or veal, cut into 1 inch cubes, brown the meat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste. Cover with water and simmer for 1 hour. Then Add 2 ripe quinces, peeled, cored & cut into similar chunks, plus 4oz soaked yellow split peas. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add 4 tablespoons lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons suger. Simmer a further 15 minutes or until ready. I think the genius of this is how the quinces & meat react with the very considerable quantity of cinnamon. Yummy with Rice. (From Claudia Roden's book of Jewish food, which like her book of middle-eastern food has plenty more Quince recipes.)

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: LadyJean
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:44 AM

You make jelly. My grandmother used to give me a jar of home made quince jelly every year on my birthday. I loved it. It's just sweet enough. Peanut butter and quince jelly isn't bad. But it's best on a buttered scone.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Padre
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:55 AM

For you chutney fans out there:

8 cups peeled, cored, diced quinces
3 oranges thinly sliced
3 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup finely chopped preserved ginger
1 cup currants
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 teasp. ground ginger
1/2 teasp. ground cloves
1/2 teasp. ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic crushed
juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients except ginger with 1 1/2 cups water in large non-reactive saucepan. Simmer 45 mins. Add ginger, cool 5 mins. Spoon into hot sterilized jars and seal while hot. Refrigerate after opening.

Padre

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 01:04 AM

I know nothing about eating quince, but I do know that many apple trees are grown from apple scions grafted onto quince rootstock. Quince rootstock is stronger and more disease resistant than the apple tree's own roots.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 04:26 AM

English/Australians undoubtedly call quince jelly quince jam. You can also sometimes get quince leather - which is like a dehydrated form of jam. In Aust, they sell different types of fruit leather for kids - probably not quince though.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Little Robyn
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 05:43 AM

Quince jelly is real easy!
You don't have to peel or core it (unless you really want to).
Just cut it up into chunks and put it in a pot of water to boil - just as you would for spuds.
When the quince is nice and soft, seive off the water and keep that! Now throw away the quince!!
Or if you did peel and core it you could use the mushy stuff to make a pudding but it's pretty sour and needs quite a lot of sugar. It makes a nice pie, especially mixed with apple.
But back to the jelly.....
Measure the water and add sugar to it - cup for cup.
(If you have 2 cups of juice, add 2 cups of sugar.)
Then just boil it until it will set when you test it, in a saucer.
We have a quince tree and we love it!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Little Robyn
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 05:45 AM

But don't wait for it to soften - it will have gone off by then! Use it now.
And you won't like it raw!
Robyn again.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: MBSLynne
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 05:57 AM

Us English jam-makers do have both jelly AND jam. I believe American jelly covers them all? To me, jam is made with the fruit and sugar mixed together and cooked while jelly involves cooking the fruit, straining it and then adding sugar, depending on how much juice, and cooking it. Jellies are good for things like raspberries if you don't like the pips, or apples, because you can cook the whole apple and strain it rather than peeling, coring etc.

Quince and crabapple jelly is lovely. We eat that and straight quince as a jam on bread, but they were used in the past to go with meat.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 06:02 AM

What do we do with a quince?
Tune: What is the Life of a Man?

What do we do with a quince,
When it falls from the tree...

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 07:00 AM

The reputed origin of the word marmalade was from the Portuguese word marmelo. Marmelo is a sort of carveable jam made from quince, and I grew to love it dearly during the Portuguese phase of my life.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 07:03 AM

Sorry update on previous senior moment, the quince is called marmelo, and the jam is marmelada.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,Peter from Essex
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 07:03 AM

Stew with cooking apples if you don't have many or stew on its own and use with meats instead of apple sauce.
or make confits by stewing the quince then passing through a fine sieve (a lot easier of broken up in a blender first but not mandatory). Add an equal weight of sugar and simmer stirring all the time until the mixture draws away from the side of the pan.
Pour onto a sheet of grease proof paper an place in airing cupboard for a day to set.

Slice, dust with icing sugar and store in an airtight container.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 07:51 AM

jelly: A soft, semisolid food substance made by the setting of a liquid containing pectin or gelatin or by the addition of gelatin to a liquid, especially such a substance made of fruit juice containing pectin boiled with sugar.

jam: A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar.

marmalade: A clear, jellylike preserve made from the pulp and rind of fruits, especially citrus fruits.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 11:42 AM

You do have to cook them first. They taste a little like apples.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,Strollin' Jonny
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:33 PM

(I've changed the spelling from 'Johnny' as a tribute to England's finest-ever kicker).

Ask Sooz - she knows all about that stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,Crystal
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:46 PM

I HOPE I get to eat some quince comfits this year Dad!
If I remember rightly you scoffed them all before I got to see you!

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:53 PM

Hide his runcible spoon.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Peace
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 12:56 PM

But let him have his runcible fork!

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 01:32 PM

Filth

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Emma B
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 02:01 PM

In Spain (and my local deli) Quince jelly is called membrillo and is served, cut into thin slices, with cheese. A must for tapas!
I think you'll need more than one quince tho'

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 04:21 PM

I was watching Martha Stewart this morning and she made a wonderful looking quince dessert. Looked like a pie-sized tart. She peeled and cut in half 10 quinces, then simmered them for about 8 minutes in boiling water, then set them aside to drain. She took about 3/4 cup sugar and maybe a little margarine (I blinked at some point, apparently, when she listed the ingredient) and carmelized the sugar in a big cast iron and porcelain casserole dish. Not to let it get too dark, but to have the nice brown runny sugar in the pan bottom. She then placed the quince halves on edge (domino style) all around the pan then set them similarly in the middle (concentric circles), completely filling it one layer deep. Then she took some fancy type of butter chunky pie crust (I would simply use pie crust) and rolled it out to a diameter a couple of inches beyond the top edges of the dish. The crust was placed on top and the extra was simply tucked under itself. She baked it at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes, and then while it was still quite warm she got a big flat serving thing with a bit of a lip and placed it over the top of the baking dish and turned it out so the crust was on the bottom and the carmelized quinces in all their glory were there. Looked gorgeous and not very hard to do!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: annamill
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 04:28 PM

Was she broadcasting from prizon? ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: annamill
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 04:29 PM

OK, sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 05:54 PM

Martha Stewart is NOT being charged with insider trading. They don't have enough evidence to make the case. She's being charged with "obstructing justice." Why? Because, among other things, the prosecutor says that by publicly declaring "I'm innocent" she is INTENTIONALLY playing with the price of her stock, hoping it will go up.

Someone is wasting a lot of time and money, but in this case, it isn't Martha. Too bad the prosecutors can't be charged for having their heads up their asses in public.

Meanwhile, I think that recipe of hers is quite a sumptuous use of an interesting fruit.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Coyote Breath
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 10:37 PM

Oh what do we do with a quince?
Admire it or eat it or wince?
Do we mash it all flat?
Pass it off to the cat?
Or stuff it into a blintz?

CB (sorry)




no he's not

well he should be!

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 10:37 PM

I'm beginning to get the idea. I have to cook it.

The quince was $1.88 on special, so 10 quinces plus sales tax for Martha's dessert would come to about $20. Somehow, I don't think it's worth it.

I believe I will make some applesauce with it.

Thanks, all.

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:00 AM

Make the dessert with 9 apples and one quince. I wouldn't boil the apples--but you might want to bake them for a few minutes then construct the tart.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 03:57 AM

We get a couple of dozen from our bush each year. We do nothing with them now. Various friends have taken them and made quince jelly, after much hard work, then confessed they never eat the stuff. Jars they've given back to us remain uneaten. One of Sheila's Greek cookbooks has a recipe for pork with quince but she's never got round to it.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: what do we do with a quince?
From: Sooz
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:03 PM

Make wine - but only if you can get them for nothing!