by Owen Lightly | For the uninitiated, quince is a magical tree fruit resembling an oddly shaped apple or pear. Golden in colour and covered with a thin veil of fuzz, it has a pleasant scent that will easily fill a room when given the chance. The flesh of the fruit is, for all intents and purposes, inedible in its raw state – only with time, heat, and a little sugar, does it reveal its true powers.

Until I started working in kitchens I had never seen a quince. A relic of the fruit world, there are very few orchards that grow them nowadays. Steeped in mythical lore (argued to be the golden apple that Paris gave Aphrodite), my best luck in finding them has been by asking around at the farmers markets, or by keeping my ear to the ground and listening for people with trees in their yards that might otherwise go unpicked. My supply this year came after a chance encounter with man named T.K. in a Penticton restaurant. My friend casually mentioned to him of our need for some quince, and the next morning we were perched on stepladders plundering his tree. We drove home with over a hundred pounds.

Three ideas for sourcing quince

1. Put it out there on facebook or twitter that you’re looking for it. It has worked for me with many other hard-to-find ingredients.

2. Comb Craigslist. I’ve seen many ads with people begging for you to come and pick from their tree.

3. Drive around until you see a tree in someone’s yard and come back at night with a balaclava and a basket. To negate the bad karma, come back with a basket of quince preserves and leave it at their front door.

Quinces are only around for another couple of weeks or so, so get out there and find some. Once you have them, you might be wondering, what the hell do I do with them? Well, let me give you a couple of preparations that have a multitude of uses.

Poached Quince

yields 2 liter containers

Poached in a spiced syrup, these have a shit-ton of applications. For example, in a simple apple or pear crisp, substitute in half poached quince and be amazed by the length and intensity of the orgasm. Other uses include: on yoghurt, with ice cream, in pie, tarte tatin…I could go on and on.

Ingredients

10 medium sized quince (net weight)
1 lemon, juiced
900 grams / 4 cups granulated sugar
1 litre water
2 vanilla beans, halved and seeds scraped out
5 pieces whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Method

1. Remove any fuzz from the surface of the quince by rinsing under cold water and rubbing with a clean kitchen towel.

2. Fill a large container with water and add the lemon juice. Remove the outside skin of the quince with a peeler and place in the acidulated water.

3. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine the sugar and water and bring to the simmer over medium heat. Halve the vanilla beans, scrape the seeds out with a knife and add to the syrup mixture. Add the star anise, cinnamon, black peppercorns and lemon zest, reserving the juice for later.

4. Quarter and core the quince with a small knife, storing in the acidulated water after (the quince will oxidize insanely fast if exposed to the elements).

5. Add the quince to the syrup and poach over a medium-low heat until easily penetrated with the tip of a knife, approximately 20-30 minutes. Add the reserved lemon juice.

6. From here you have two options: either cool to room temperature and store in a covered container in the fridge, or ladle the hot fruit into sterilized jars, cover with hot syrup, and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. The un-canned quince will last a few months in the fridge, and the sealed jars will last up to a year in a cool, dark cupboard or basement. Here’s a canning primer to keep things safe.

Quince Paste

yields about 1 kilogram

A classic accompaniment to Manchego cheese in Spain, this thick quince condiment sets up like a jelly and keeps for months in the fridge. Try a simple sandwich with Serrano ham, Manchego cheese and quince paste on a baguette – it’s serious business.

Many versions of this recipe use equal parts quince to sugar, but I prefer using less and cooking it for longer. Watch as it turns from a light yellow to a ruby pink over the course of the cooking time. Groovy.

Ingredients

1 kilogram quince, peeled, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 6 medium sized quince)
500 grams granulated sugar

Method

1. Place the quince in a non-reactive pot, cover with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Turn the down the heat to achieve a simmer and cook until the quince is completely tender (about 15-20 minutes).

2. Strain the quince and puree the fruit in batches in a food processor until completely smooth. You can also put the quince through a food mill if you have one.

3. Place the quince and the sugar in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot and cook over low heat, stirring often, until very thick and ruby-pink (about 1.5-2 hours).

4. Line a small sheet pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper and pour in the quince mixture. Smooth out with a spatula and place another sheet of plastic or parchment on top. Let is set in the fridge overnight. Cut it into manageable pieces the next day and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store it in the fridge for up to 3 months.

(photos by Michael Sider)

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Owen Lightly is the founder of Butter On The Endive, a full service catering company dedicated to providing inspired food experiences to its clients. A veteran member of many local kitchen teams (among them Aurora Bistro, West, Au Petit Chavignol, Araxi, and Market), he pens Scout’s new Pound Of Butter food column. Read our interview with him here.