Annabel's Garden - QUINCES

Autumn may see the end of summer stone fruits such as apricots, cherries and peaches, but we are soon compensated with a bounty of later harvest fruits rich in character and taste – the sweet, aromatic feijoa, fleshy figs and the season’s slightly knobbly golden prize, the quince.

Quince is a frost-hardy tree which requires a cold period below 7ºC to flower properly. The tree is self-fertile and deciduous, and its fruit needs to be picked before the first frosts. Quince is the kind of old-fashioned fruit you seldom see in the shops, but it is making a comeback. Old orchards are a good place to find quince trees and autumn is the time to check out the season’s harvest.

Borne by trees reaching up to 8 metres high, quinces (Cydonia oblonga) look something like a cross between a pear and an apple (they are related to both). They have a wonderfully fragrant perfume; indeed, quinces were once popular as room deodorisers and they were also used to scent linen drawers.

Raw quince has a pale flesh, which is hard, sour and gritty, with an intense astringency. Given long slow cooking with sugar, this pale, sour flesh transforms into a tender, sweet dessert of the deepest ruby hue. As with the alchemy of gloopy egg whites into cloud-like meringue, the metamorphosis of the quince is one of the more remarkable culinary transformations. Quinces can be used in small amounts to enhance and deepen the flavour of a variety of savoury or sweet dishes or to create delicious old-fashioned desserts and preserves.

The quince season starts in early autumn as the fruit turn from green to pale gold. They fall to the ground as they ripen but may also be harvested from the tree and will ripen further after picking. I planted our first quince tree in Wanaka about 8 years ago and it has been fruiting for the last 5 years. The variety that does best for me is the Smyrna, of Turkish origin. This year it has borne a huge crop – over 300 fruit, all fat and golden and waiting their turn in the kitchen.

In Medieval times, quince marmalade was popular in Britain. Peeled and quartered fruits were boiled in red wine, strained, boiled again in honey and spiced wine, then after cooling and setting, sliced into pieces and served as a dessert in the same way as ‘membrillo’ (quince paste) is eaten in Spain today. Quinces have long been used as a herbal medicine. Even today in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, the dried pits of the fruit are soaked in boiling water and used to treat sore throats and coughs.

BOTTLED QUINCES

1.5kg sugar
2 litres water
8 (2-3kg) large quinces
½ cup lemon juice
4-6 cups water
Optional: 4-5 whole cloves, 1 strip orange rind, 1 whole star anise

Sterilise preserving jars. After washing the jars, bake in a 100°C oven for a minimum of 30 minutes; or microwave a wet jar for 1-2 minutes until dry and warm. To sterilise lids do not microwave, put in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes and dry before sealing. Jars and lids must be sterile, thoroughly dry and still warm at use.

Make syrup by bringing water and sugar to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Choose ripe quinces with a fragrant aroma and no blemishes. Wash to remove any fuzz. Prepare a bowl with lemon juice and water. Peel quinces and drop into lemon water to prevent browning. One quince at a time, quarter and remove cores and return to lemon water as you finish processing the rest of the fruit. Drain and add prepared quinces to syrup and if desired, add 4-5 whole cloves, a strip of orange rind (no pith) or a whole star anise to flavour the syrup. Simmer gently on a low heat for 60 minutes until quinces are tender and start to turn pale pink.

Bottle into sterilised jars. Remove any air bubbles by running a knife around the inside sides of the jar (being careful not to damage the fruit segments) and let the hot syrup overflow the edges. Seal with screw-down pop-top lids and wipe jars clean. (Remember to label with contents and date.)

QUINCE CONSERVE & PASTE

1 litre water
2.5kg sugar
8 (2.5-3kg) medium whole quinces

Bring to the boil sugar and water to make syrup, stirring to dissolve sugar (15 minutes). Wash the whole quinces and remove any fuzz and add to the syrup. Simmer until mixture turns deep, dark red, approximately 80 minutes, turning fruit now and then so it cooks evenly.

QUINCE CONSERVE

Carefully lift fruit from syrup. Allow to cool before removing the cores. Dice 2 of the quinces and return to the syrup. Simmer until it jellies, 10-15 minutes. To test, put a spoonful of the mixture onto a chilled saucer. Allow to cool for a few seconds. The surface should set. Push it with your fingertip; if it wrinkles up, it's ready. Pour into sterilised, warm jars and seal tightly while still hot (see Bottled Quinces for sterilising instructions).

QUINCE PASTE

Purée the remaining fruit. Transfer this purée to an oiled sponge roll tin (18 x 28cm). Preheat oven to 80°C and bake for 24-30 hours until firm enough to slice. (This drying process preServes    the quince jelly.) Cool, slice and store in a jar of caster sugar.

DUCK & QUINCE TAGINE

Middle Eastern cooking often uses fruit in a savoury context. The juxtaposition of sweet, slightly acidic flavours with savoury sauces goes particularly well with sweet meats such as duck and pork.

4 duck leg quarters, or 4 whole wild ducks
1 tsp each ground ginger, cinnamon and ground cumin
salt and ground black pepper
1 large quince, washed, cored and sliced in thin wedges
1 large brown onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
¼ cup (30g) finely chopped
fresh ginger
½ cup white sugar
1 cup white wine, eg Riesling
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 200°C. If using farmed ducks prick skin all over to allow fat to escape. Rub duck all over with combined spices, season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack in a roasting dish. Roast at 200°C for 1 hour.

While duck roasts, place sliced quince, onion, ginger, sugar and 2 cups water in a pot. Cover and simmer over lowest heat for 1 hour. Pour the cooked quince and onion mixture into the base of a casserole dish large enough to fit the duck in a single layer. Mix wine, stock and vinegar and pour over duck. Cover and bake at 200°C for a further hour or until duck is very tender. Serve with a parsnip mash or a Turkish pilaf.

• If quinces are unavailable prepare this dish using a can of guavas, sliced in their juices and a firm pear, cut in thin wedges.
• If making this dish with wild ducks which have no fat, hot roast only for 30 minutes then bake with onions and quince for about 3 hours, or until tender.

Quince Tarte Tatin

Prep      10 minutes
Cook     15-25 minutes
Serves   6-8

1 recipe Quince Confit
1/3 cup syrup from cooked quinces
1 sheet flaky pastry or 160g pastry, rolled thinly

Preheat oven to 200°C. Slice quince quarters lengthways into 3-4 pieces each. Pour syrup into a 20-23cm frying pan and arrange quinces on top in an overlapping ring. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Roll and cut the pastry to fit the pan and place on top of quinces. Bake tart until pastry is puffed and golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert on to a serving plate.

If tart cools too much before being inverted it will stick in the pan. Place pan over heat for a minute to soften juices then tip tart out on to plate. Serve with good-quality vanilla ice cream.

Quince Splash

Prep      20 minutes
Cook     50 minutes
Makes   1 litre

2 large ripe quinces, cored and chopped into quarters (about 600g before coring)
1 litre water
600g sugar
1 tsp citric acid

Wash to remove any fuzz. Place raw, cored fruit into a juicer, or food processor, and process to a fine purée, then strain through a fine sieve and discard solids. Place juice in a pot with water and sugar. Bring to the boil, stir to dissolve sugar and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in citric acid until dissolved. Bottle in sterilised jars. Shake before using.

• Serve over fresh fruit or ice cream
• Use to deglaze a pan after browning beef pork or lamb
• Add a splash to chilled champagne for a delicious quince cocktail.

You will find these recipes and other quince ideas in Annabel's books:

• Duck & Quince Tagine – p.162
• Quince Confit & Ruby Syrup – p.177
• Quince Tarte Tatin – p.177

• Slow-Roasted Quinces in their Jelly – p.138