This was the dire situation facing a friend of mine today. The quince trees in her garden have gone beserk and there's only so much quince jelly a girl can make (and if you've ever peeled and cored a quince you'll know that quantity is not a large one - they put up quite a fight). So, a big bag of quinces arrived at my door this morning.
They are so beautifully golden that I had a Mediterreanean moment. I emptied out the usual contents of this Morroccan bowl in the conservatory (a broken plastic tube from the gerbil cage, a can of WD40, a dog grooming glove and an adjustable spanner) and piled in my quincely hoard. (I washed the bowl first). Now they are filling the house with their musky, Christmassy fragrance and I'm feeling smugly Nigella-ish as I stir the first batch as they poach in syrup.
I also squandered far too much valuable writing time, not only wrestling the quinces into submission with my peeling knife, but also looking up all the wonderful recipes I can use them for - just look at the website below*...quiddany, cotoniack, membrillo... the list goes on. The word marmalade comes from the portuguese for quince, by the way. * http://www.historicfood.com/Quinces%20Recipe.htm
Now all I need is some mince and a runcible spoon.
this is very "Mediterreanean"! I want to close my eyes and pretend that I was enjoying the golden sunshine at the beautiful blue seaside. funny how your mind works by looking at some images :)
The bowl is perfect for them. I make quince paste. The peeling is still a pain but most of it is in the microwave and it is the best with blue cheese. I did not make any this year,I know, I am a bad/lazy boy!
This is lovely to see. My cottage is called quince cottage www.quincecottage-boa.com! It is so named because quince is a symbol of love and happiness, which is what I wanted my house to be full of. This bowl looks like it is full of the same! I did a great lamb tagine the other day with quince, saffron, coriander seed, cumin seed, caraway seed. If you want another good recipe email me via the site.
