Easy quince cheese recipe (membrillo)
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Fruit, Jam Jelly and Preserves, Vegetarian | 156 comments
I’m back at the helm and it’s marvellous to be feeling well and chirpy and slimmer. Forget Champneys. A week in bed with a bug does wonders for the figure.
Danny put on his sensible parent hat this morning. He instructed me not to go to work, reasoning that more recuperation was required. He was right. I did feel weak.
This afternoon, he relented slightly.
“Why not go out foraging for an hour. You could do with some fresh air.”
He passed me the foraging stick, tossed me his car keys and disappeared upstairs.
I found some plump sloes and with the help of the walking stick accessed branches that only a seven foot giant could reach. The crab apple tree had a small final harvest. Being north facing its fruit had not spoiled. I tootled home and simmered the crab apples with chillies to make a hot jelly (recipe later this week if it turns out well).
My main aim today was to make some quince cheese. The quinces had been cooked and strained for jelly the week before last. The juice and flesh keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks. Today was the last day.
When I discovered membrillo at the Spanish Deli in Portobello Road I was delighted. I love the combination of membrillo and Manchego. Danny wasn’t impressed. His face crumpled when he tasted it.
“It’s so sweet. How can you like it?”
I was pretty sure that membrillo needn’t be so sweet. I looked at various recipes on the internet. The amount of sugar varied enormously. In the end I decided to plump for an equal volume of quince pulp to sugar. This has produced a membrillo that is sweet but tastes of quince. I reckon that one could get away with even less sugar in fact when I looked in my copy of Oded Schwartz, his recipe uses slightly less – 50g less. Adding the lemon juice made a difference too.
They key to this recipe is time. I simmered the quinces for at least three hours until they became a deep pink colour. The final stage is a long process too. The quince pulp and sugar was simmered gently (lowest setting) for a good 2-3 hours to intensify the colour and thicken the pulp to the right consistency. There is no need to bring the mixture to a rolling boil. This is a recipe that is spread over two evenings. One evening simmer the quinces and strain overnight. The next evening make the membrillo.
Danny tasted it gave the recipe the thumbs up, especially when he realised that the by product is the juice for quince jelly.
Easy quince cheese recipe (membrillo)
Ingredients:
For the quince pulp:
- 1 kilo of quinces
- Zest of half a lemon
- Water to cover
For the quince cheese:
- Quince pulp
- Juice of half a lemon
- Granulated (not castor) white sugar (equal volume to the pulp)
Method:
- Rub the down off the quinces and wash them. There is no need to peel or core the quinces.
- Chop the quinces carefully, as they are hard it is easy for the knife to slip. I chopped them into quarters and sliced them into 1cm slices.
- Place the quince slices in a large saucepan or casserole dish and add water so that they are just floating. Add the zest of half a lemon.
- Bring slowly to the boil and then turn the hob down to it’s lowest setting so that the quinces gently simmer (lid on). Simmer the fruit until very soft and the fruit has turned a deep pink colour. This took me about 3 hours. Check the quinces every now and then and top up the water if necessary.
- Strain the juice from the fruit overnight using a jelly bag or muslin square. Retain the juice to make quince jelly.
- I was loathe to spend hours pressing the quinces through a sieve so I put them through the Magimix
(medium grater blade) and then I sieved them.
- Measure the pulp using a measuring jug put the pulp into a large heavy bottomed saucepan or casserole dish and add an equal volume of white granulated sugar. Add the juice of half a lemon.
- Bring the pulp and sugar gradually to simmering point, stirring to dissolve the sugar and let it simmer, lowest setting for 2-3 hours, stirring every now and then to stop it sticking and burning. It will resemble gloopy mud. Gradually the colour will darken. Eventually the fruit will become very thick (I could stand my spoon up in mine).
- Spoon into well oiled sterilised straight sided jars and seal with cellophane lids. This will keep for months. Cut slices to eat with cheese or cold meat. Refrigerate after opening.
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Hello everyone,
What a lovely site. How nice to see that so many others love quince and other old-fashioned fruit. I am salivating just reading it this.
I fell in love with quince a few years ago and begged my then-boyfriend for a tree of my own. The sapling happily flowered in a pot on our terrace and since I moved to Liverpool now has doubled in size in the ground. It was covered in flowers this spring but sadly there are no quince at all (although now five years old). My neighbour has a small ornamental quince bush which sounds very much like the ones you describe above- I will try to beg some from her in return for jelly and membrillo if it works I never seem to see any quince for sale in the area where I live!
My boyfriend and I split up two years ago- then sadly he was killed in a car accident last year. One day I will move away from here, my heart already aches when I think I may have to leave the tree behind. It has come to mean more to me than the promise of fruit.
Take care everyone,
Thanks. Helen
I harvested the quinces in October. But pick up the windfalls and simmer them in a little water (cut up but with peel cores and pips) and freeze them for later. Also japonica quinces can be treated in this way.
Sometimes I see English quinces in the shops in October. Otherwise the Greek ones arrive in November/December and are often available in markets.
Also freeze some to make our Quince and Seville Orange Marmalade – recipe to appear soon (when I find it!)
Fiona,
Fascinating site and great discussion. Do you have any advice on when ripe and ready to pick? We live in Lewisham (south east London) and have a quince tree that’s barely a sapling but has 9 heavy quinces bowing it down (seems wrong, like a pregnant ten-year-old). Or do you think ripeness is not critical? I note that you originally posted in October. We are determined to make membrillo this year rather than the last few years when we left them too long and they rotted.
Hi Mo
They are in season in the UK from October to Christmas.
please can you tell me where I can buy quinces
many thanks
Mo
Belated greetings to this thread from Australia. I have a row of 15 quince trees currently groaning under their loads of fruit. Just picked a basket of the first early ones to make jelly. I’m shocked at how expensive quinces are in England! Here, I plead with people to come and take them away free.
Quinces are a popular fruit here for making jellies and what we call quince paste or quince cheese. I was cruising the web looking for inspiration for using them in other ways. I’m potty about the perfume and flavour of quinces.
I poach them with water and sugar and eat with cream, add them to apple pies and make straight quince pies from the poached quinces (drain some of the syrup off first before filling the pastry case). Quince tatin is a dream made from lightly pre-cooked quinces and especially good if you add light brown sugar or a dash of honey to the fruit when adding it to the tatin pan.
TIPS: To make the best jelly, it should be made early in the quince season when there is still a slight light green flush to the lemon coloured quinces. You can still make membrillo from the pulp and it will be not so cloyingly sweet as when made from golden ripe fruit.
To obtain the ruby red colour in cooked quinces, you should remove the central core, pips and washed peelings (if you peeled the fruit), I don’t peel), place them in a tied piece of muslin and cook with the quinces through both stages of boiling – i.e. with and without the sugar. The central core is rich in pectin and contains the natural elements that impart the ruby colour.
If you only have golden aged quinces, then add extra lemon juice for added pectin.
Remember to cook the fruit and juices gently or they will caramelize and go dark in colour instead of ruby red.
If your want dryer membrillo or quince cheese which keeps for years, spread your membrillo on an oven tray lined with baking paper and leave in an oven that is barely turned on, for 12-24 hours. I leave mine in overnight. The oven is just barely warm.
Suggestions for other things to do with quinces:
1. When making Jelly, leave a small quantity in the pot after bottling the bulk of the jelly. To this add an extra squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of cider or light balsamic vinegar and a few generous sprigs of rosemary which has been quickly heated in a little butter and drained on kitchen paper. Remove the rosemary after it has infused for a while in the hot jelly. Don’t worry if the leaves drop off. Leave them and remove the twiggy bits. Reheat the jelly gently until it has sterilized again and bottle into small hot jars. Seal with screw lids whilst the jelly is still hot. You can use other herbs like tarragon, thyme, lemon thyme, oregano etc., to replace the rosemary. A little grated orange or lemon zest adds extra piquancy too. Lovely with all hot and cold meats except fish, and a dollop adds another hidden dimension to a casserole.
2. Stir a tablespoon of Rosewater or Orange Flower water to your quince jelly just before you are about to bottle it. A few drops of lemon oil is another nice addition, but not in conjunction with the Rosewater or Orange Flower water.
3. Bake ripe quince wedges alongside your roast of pork and serve as an extra roast vegie. They are tart and refreshing and cut the richness of the pork.
Searched for “Quince recipes” as I am bonked on the head with ripe quince every time I go in the back yard this week. I wanted this tree; I planted this tree; now I have fruit on this tree, and no clue what to do with it. This is a great thread, and has given me several ideas! Wish I were on the same continent as those of you who can’t get them—I’d be more than happy to share!
Jane, thanks for posting about the pressure cooker—I use mine for everything else, but didn’t think of using it on the quince. Glad to know they don’t have to be peeled and cut, as I did that 2 years ago, and it was a nightmare. I’ll have a go with the whole ones in the pressure cooker and see how it all turns out!
I have just boiled and left this years decorative quince for jelly but was wondering how to make membrillo. Found your site – fantastic I only put in membrillo! Anyway, I just boil all the fruit so would this be ok for membrillo? and do I need any of the liquid? and will the outcome be changed because of skin and seeds? I will delay making my jelly for a day or to and see what you think. But will probably just have a go. Love the site
I finally tried your recipe. It’s the best yet – and I’ve tried a few.
However, I’ll remove the pips next time because tiny particles of the husks went through the seive. Also added a bit more lemon juice, but that’s just a taste thing.
Have just aquired a small amount of quince(s) for the first time, don’t know if there’s enough to make the cheese but will have a go! The jelly mixture with apple and cranberries sounds a really interesting alternative to cranberry jelly so will definitely try it! How easy would it be to grow quince from some of the seeds, or suggestions to improve my chances??
Cheers!