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Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Quince Sweetens as It Cooks
By Patricia Aaron
For the Journal
Do you look at all those jewels in the produce section and then buy the same old broccoli and zucchini? This summer, Patricia Aaron introduces you to some items you might not use regularly. This week: Meet quince.
Quince is an autumn fruit, available between late August and November. Long a staple in Persian, Greek and Moroccan cuisine, the quince is such an old favorite that folklore pegs it as the original forbidden fruit.
Considered a symbol of love and fertility before the pyramids were built, it was a gift often exchanged between a bride and groom. Early Spanish, French and English settlers brought quince to America. Some old-timers tell us that if you place whole quince in your closet or cupboards it will keep the air fresh.
DESCRIPTION: Shaped like a fat pear with a flat bottom and a knob at one end, this green-gold fruit often has a fuzzy, peachlike exterior. The flesh of raw quince is gravelly in texture. Its flavor is more acidic than that of an apple and it has lots of hard seeds. Usually quince is cooked before it's eaten. After cooking, quince is soft with a delicately sweet, honeylike flavor and a musky aroma. Cooked quince turns light pink to purple in color.
NUTRITION: Nutrients of a quince are similar to those of the pear with about half the calories. A 3 1/2-ounce serving of cooked quince has about 55 calories. It's high in vitamin C, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
EQUIVALENTS: Three quince weigh about 1 pound. One pound yields 3 to 4 cups of sliced fruit. One baked quince equals one serving.
TO BUY: Larger quince is usually the best. Unripe quince is green and should be firm with few blemishes. Ripe quince turns a pale, yellow color, but remains firm. Ripe quince bruises very easily and must be handled carefully. Never buy badly bruised ripe quince, as decay spreads rapidly.
TO STORE: Ripen quince at room temperature in a paper bag with a few holes in it. It turns pale yellow when ripe, but will not be soft. Quince gives off a pleasant, fruity aroma. Refrigerate ripe quince and use within 10 days. To freeze quince, wash, peel, core and slice. Toss 4 cups of quince with 1/2 cup sugar. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Use within one year.
TO PREPARE: To prepare ripe quince, peel and remove the seed cavity as you would with an apple or pear. Use according to recipes or cook in enough water to cover until tender, sweetening with honey or sugar as desired.
TO USE: Serve cooked quince sweetened with brown sugar as a dessert or an accompaniment to roast pork or wild game. Add sliced quince to apple pie filling or bake whole as you would a pear or an apple. Add sliced quince to meaty stews or chop and use in meat filling to stuff winter squash.
Puréed cooked quince can be added to puddings, fruit fillings or sauces. Quince's high pectin and acidity level is ideal for use in jams, jelly and preserves. Quince is the original fruit for marmalade, which takes its name from the Portuguese word for quince, marmelo.
Make homemade pectin stock by simmering sliced quince with water until it renders its juice. Cooking reduces the juice and concentrates the pectin. Quince will not dominate the flavor of a fruit used for jelly making. If you would like more recipes for quince, give me a call at 243-1386.
QUINCE APPLE PIE
Pastry for double crust pie
4 cups peeled sliced quince
4 cups peeled sliced apples
2 tablespoons diced green chile
1 tablespoon rum flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out half of pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan. In a large bowl, combine quince, apples and green chile. Toss with rum flavoring and vanilla.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Toss sugar mixture with fruit and spoon into prepared pie pastry. Drizzle with butter.
Roll out remaining dough and place over fruit. Crimp edges of pastry and cut slits to release steam. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Makes 8 servings.