Quince Paste Recipes

EASY MEMBRILLO (SWEET QUINCE PASTE)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, once the sugar has melted and the mixture begins to bubble, simmer uncovered for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the candy thermometer reads 220 degrees F. This doesn't always guaranteed it's ready, so at this point also do a plate test to make sure the mixture is done: Spoon a little of the liquid onto a cold plate and wait a couple of minutes. Push the liquid with your finger and if it wrinkles it is ready. If it doesn't, continue to simmer and re-test. The quince will increasingly change into a deep ruby red color.
• Grease a 8x8 inch glass baking dish. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender or blend in a Vitamix or similar until smooth. Pour the hot mixture into the greased baking dish and smooth the top. Let it cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-48 hours until firm. Invert the membrillo / quince paste onto a platter (you may need to gently pry it out with a knife). Note: Some recipes call for placing the membrillo in an oven at low temp (125 degrees F) for 8+ hours to firm it up. This membrillo is already firm and perfectly sliceable. If you prefer it even firmer, proceed with dehydrating it.Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 3 months or longer. For longer storage membrillo can be frozen well-wrapped for up to a year.
• Makes one 8x8 inch square of quince paste.Serve with your cheese & charcuterie board. Traditionally served with manchego but pairs beautifully with most aged, hard cheeses.

QUINCE PASTE

Steps:

• Wash, peel, and core the quinces, reserving the cores and peels. Coarsely chop the flesh and transfer the fruit to a large pan. Wrap the cores and peels in cheesecloth, tie the bag with kitchen string, and add it to the pan. (The peels contain most of the fruit's pectin, which contributes to the firmness of the quince paste.)
• Pour in enough water to cover the quinces and boil, half-covered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the fruit is very soft. Remove the bag of peels and pass the quince flesh through a sieve or food mill. (For best results, don't use a food processor as it will result in too fine a texture.) You should have about 2 1/2 pounds of fruit pulp.
• Transfer the quince pulp to a saucepan and add the sugar (ideally, you should add the same amount of sugar, by weight, as the fruit pulp). Cook and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the paste becomes very thick and has a deep orange color. Draw the wooden spoon along the bottom of the saucepan: it should leave a trail and the quince mixture will stick to the spoon.
• Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or line it with greased parchment paper. Transfer the quince paste to the baking dish, spreading it about 1 1/2-inch thick. Smooth the top and allow it to cool.
• Dry the paste on your lowest oven setting, no more than 125 degrees F (52 degrees C), for about 1 1/2 hours. Allow the quince paste to cool completely before slicing. (In Europe, the traditional method of drying the quince paste is to leave it in a cupboard for about 7 days. The remaining juices will continue to evaporate and render a drier paste.)
• Store quince paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator; the color will deepen with age.

QUINCE PASTE - MEMBRILLO

Steps:

• Zest the lemon.
• If using fresh vanilla bean, split the vanilla bean.
• In a large pot, place the quince, vanilla bean and lemon zest.
• Add about 1 1/2 cups of water - just enough to cover the quince.
• Simmer on medium low heat for about 20 minutes, until the quince are very soft.
• Most of the water will have evaporated.
• Drain and puree the soft quince with 1/2 cup of water in a food processor.
• Measure the quantity of quince puree.
• Place the puree and equal amounts of sugar back in the pot - about 2 cups.
• Cook on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add juice of the lemon and cook on VERY LOW HEAT, stirring often for 45 minutes, until thickened and rosy color.
• Preheat oven to 200 F..
• Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
• Transfer the thickened quince to the oven and bake for 2 1/2 hours until most of the moisture is gone and it is quite firm.
• Chill for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

MEMBRILLO (QUINCE PASTE)

Steps:

• Measure the purée: Measure the quince purée. Whatever amount of quince purée you have, that's how much sugar you will need. So if you have 4 cups of purée, you'll need 4 cups of sugar.

QUINCE PASTE (DULCE DE MEMBRILLO)

Steps:

• Place fruit in a pot and cover with water.
• Fruit paste will keep for several weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.

QUINCE PASTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly oil a 1-quart terrine.
• Scrub quinces and pat dry. In a small roasting pan bake quinces, covered with foil, in middle of oven until tender, about 2 hours, and transfer pan to a rack. When quinces are cool enough to handle, with a sharp knife peel, quarter, and core them.
• In a food processor puree pulp with 1/4 cup water until smooth (if mixture is too thick, add remaining 1/4 cup water a little at a time, as needed). Force puree through a large fine sieve into a liquid cup measure and measure amount of puree. Transfer puree to a 3-quart heavy saucepan and add an equivalent amount of sugar.
• Cook quince puree over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and begins to pull away from side of pan, about 25 minutes. Pour puree into terrine, smoothing top with an offset spatula, and cool. Chill puree, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until set, about 4 hours.
• Run a thin knife around sides of terrine and invert quince paste onto a platter. (Quince paste keeps, wrapped well in wax paper and then plastic wrap and chilled, 3 months.)
• Slice paste and serve with cheese and crackers.