Membrillo (Quince Paste)

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Course: Jams/Preserves

forgotten fruits and vegetables fruit cheese membrillo preserve quinces

Reviews

friederike

12 years ago

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5

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Very nice! As with the Quince and Rosewater Jelly, I used 2:1 preserving sugar, meaning I used 1 part sugar and 2.2 parts quince pulp. I cooked it for the whole 45 min on low heat, stirring constantly, but yet it ended up being burnt at the bottom of the pan - luckily not something you notice in the membrillo (be careful not to scrape the bottom).
I thought the instructions on how long you really need to cook the membrillo (what I like to call 'the Moses test' - it even looked like a red sea!)... Read more

4 comment(s)

kateq · 12 years ago

I envy you your access to quince. It hardly ever appears at farm markets or in shops here (tho I bet I could find it with no trouble in New York). On the rare occasions I do find it, I make membrillo--I have found that cooking it super slowly/on super low heat works best because it does burn so easily. It's so delicious with manchego and in pastries....

friederike · 12 years ago

I am really happy with the quinces, only until fairly recently I had no idea what else to use them for but quince jelly! I think cooking it super slowly on super low heat is probably the best idea. How long does that take for you? And how hard does your membrillo end up being? I'm trying to find something to compare it to - mine is perhaps most like a softish firm cheese (like very young Gouda), whereas my MIL's is more like a Manchego.

kateq · 12 years ago

I used this recipe -- <a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/membrillo_quince_paste/">http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/membrillo_quince_paste/</a> -- followed it loosely, finding that my quince took longer to soften and longer to turn that lovely color. When it was done, it was fairly solid, but easily spreadable and so good. I didn't make any this summer as I never came across any quince this year.

friederike · 12 years ago

Do you get quinces in summer? Around here, they are only available in winter. Interesting that that recipe estimates 1-1.5 hours - so I could turn the heat still lower, and cook it longer. I think most jelly and other preserve recipes are best only followed loosely - you never know if your preserve will turn out exactly the way theirs will.

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