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.
Leave a reply
Hello everyrone
Have just discovered this site and reading with interest all the articles. Have been desperately trying to find quinces to make membrillo in my part of the world, which is Leicestershire,UK but with no success! Is there any smallholder or farmer or anyone out there who would be able to sell me some?
I am portuguese, live in Portugal, make quince cheese every year as have my mother , grandmothers and great grandmothers… I was going to say I am an authority on the subject of “marmelada” but please take it with a huge pinch of salt. By the way, you may also add a pinch of salt to your quince cheese, it makes the flavour a little more intense !
Untreated quince are best for this cheese, because they have a tartness and pectin level that makes the cheese set almost as soon as it is poured into the bowls ( we keep it in bowls, covered with parchment paper – the kind used for cooking purposes ).
I have found over the years that quince sold in the supermarkets have no pectin left in them and the resulting cheese is gooey and will not set – it takes a good 6 months of letting it dry ( stored atop chests of drawers and wardrobes) for it to be able to cut into decent slices. It is still good, and the way I deal with this setback is as follows: I pour the cooked marmelada / membrillo paste into shallow trays about 1″ high, brush with strong spirit like vodka or cognac to delay mould appearance, cover with parchment paper and let it sit in the windowsills for a month catching the last of the autumn sun to speed up drying. Then store atop kitchen cabinets or an airy cupboard. In the UK, the airing cupboard, where you have your water heaters, would be my place of choice for this.
For quick processing and a nicely red quince cheese (marmelada) , this is what we are doing over here these days :
1 to 1.5 Kg of peeled cleaned diced uncooked quince into a pressure cooker big enough so that the quince do not reach up more than 1/3 of the height of the pan; plus 2 tablespoons of water; plus same amount of sugar as there is of quince, or less – I personally use 60% only, which means, if I have 1 Kg of quince I use 600 gram white cane sugar, if there are 1,5Kg I use 900 gram of white cane sugar.
You can get the job done with as low as 50% sugar – 500 grs sugar to 1 kilo prepared raw quince. Less would be tricky – it may not set and may also allow mould to develop.
Close your pressure cooker, set on low gas, when the valve starts turning and letting off steam, adjust gas if necessary to have a steady but low release of steam, and start the timer – you need 20 minutes from this moment until you take it off the stove.
Open pressure cooker in your usual manner but make it happen pretty soon – pouring this very hot into the final containers helps sterilize the container. Please follow makers instructions – opening an old style pressure cooker soon after it has left the stove is not for the foolish nor the fainthearted. There are pressure cookers these days for sale that are all about safety and have a button that you press to release steam safely and open the pan soon after. But my pressure cookes are all old style and I do as I saw my mother doing:
I take it off the stove straight into the sink, open the cold water tap on top of the lid avoiding the valve area, let the water run until the valve releases no more steam when prodded. Open the lid, blend to a silky paste with a handheld blender (we call this a Magic Wand and it certainly does magic with very little mess!) , add a good handful of chopped walnuts and 2 tablespoons of strong spirit per initial kilo of quince if you are so inclined, if not leave as is, pour , cover, enjoy.
Marmelada The Old Way: quince were boiled in quarters, unpeeled, pips and all on, they were then poured into a fabric bag and hung overnight from a hook under the kitchen table to strain the juices for jelly.
The remaining mass was then rid of peel and pips, by hand, and then pulped in a “passe vite” – please google it in french for pictures – twice, until very fine, then an equal amount of sugar (weight) was made into a strong syrup with some regular water, as soon as the syrup was the right temperature, the pan would be set on the floor on a heavy rug to prevent it skidding, the pulp at room temp was dumped inside, and we would then beat this mass with considerable vigour and strength until there were no lumps and it looked shiny silky smooth. Next, pour into bowls, do the sunshine routine, cover on the third day. This cheese’s colour os considerably whiter – pinker than the previous quick version. It is also very time consuming and you need experience with sugar syrup temperatures – not recommended for modern times. But it is one of my fondest childhood memories at my grandmother’s – the smell of boiling marmelada and eating the soft sweet warm marmelada left on the pan walls .
I hope this helps. If you have wild quince trees or garden variety, please use them – they are far better then supermarket battery grown ones.
Quince cheese / marmelada is winter comfort food. One of our most loved desserts is “Romeo and Juliet” : a thick slice each of strong cured (dairy) cheese and quince cheese !
Happy hours of quince cheese making and eating to all of you.
Hi, Ive been reading with interest all the posts over the last 2 years! Its so brilliant to see everyone enjoying making quince jelly.
This is my first year making jam and jelly. Ive made 2 batches of quince jelly now, and am about to make membrillo this afternoon.
Quinces can be bought from Cross Lanes Fruit Farm, Mapledurum, Reading, Berkshire. (0118 9723167.) Its a 25 acre farm just outside of Reading (4 miles) but they also do lots of farmers markets as well. They have them now, the best time to get them is from say mid October onwards. But you can place orders for next year if they run out.
Best wishes! 🙂 Jo
Hello all you quince lovers, I feel right at home!! I have just made my first ever batch of membrillo, and it seems ok- though not as firm as I’d like it to be!!! Many thanks for all the advice, I’m off to turn the oven on! Am going to try and make lemon quince marmalade next week, yum!
Hello Haery Faery
I’m having a real sort out his weekend and hopefully I’ll find it.
OOh that sounds great…how far down the pipeline is the recipe as I have big fat last years oranges on the trees that have just come juicy again…but no freezer!XX
Hello Haery Faery
Dont forget to freeze at least 650g of quince pulp. We have a wonderful quince and Seville orange marmalade recipe in the pipeline. We have feasted all year on this combination 🙂
Hi Tink
If you are going to use pears instead of quinces they will need some help. Quinces are packed with flavour and pears are delicately flavoured. Check out our recipe for pear butter https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/pear-butter-recipe-4148 (no butter in it but the result is intense pear flavours). The nutmeg and orange transform the pears. If you still want to continue with this recipe I’d advise adding them both or the juice and zest of a whole chunky lemon – if you go down any of these routes I’d love to hear how you get on.
This has given me some really good ideas thanks ! I have been out and found a lot of wiled pears so going to try the cheese and jelly with them ! Lets hope it turns out ok
regards Jon
Thanks for all the great ideas and links everybody. Here in Portugal Marmelos…quinces are in abundance and everyone is busy making marmalada…I wish I could pop by with boxes full for all of ye with supply problems!!!
I will be trying jelly this week, having read your great tips for using a sieve and a bucket…an excellent and relativeley little person proof (touch wood to appease the tree spirits!) way to be able tuck it out the way!!!
I have been using a very simple and fast technique to make sliceable marmalada/membrillo, although it turns out an amber colour…if you want deep red use a pressure cooker…
Simply wash and core the quinces and chop into small pieces cutting out any brown bits.
Weigh the chopped fruit and add 75% of the weight in sugar. Pop the chopped fruit and sugar into heavy bottomed (pref.stainless steel)pan and bring slowly to boil then simmer until friut is soft…takes about 2 hours..or 35-40 mins in the pressure cooker…I love using my mother-in-laws as the resultant colour is just gorgeous!
Remove from heat and blend…I just use a hand held blender…straight into the pan.
Once the liquid is smooth, ladle it into small bowls..(oh how I am yearning for the good old charity chops which grown with pretty little glass and ceramic bowls for 20p a piece!!)and leave to cool.(I’m now thinking about using a shaped item or mould to set patterns in the top..great for gifts!!)
Here in portugal people just pop a piece of papel vegetal..like tracing paper cut to size on the top…then they leave it out in the sun…or on a sunny windowsill to get it as firm as possible!
I hope this is helpful to people with too many quinces to process in more artful ways, it really is so simple and easy to do whilst multi tasking!
I’m off now with a lovely long list of yummy ideas to experiment with…thanks again folks.
Warm regards H XX
Hello Helcatmichael
Oh that’s such a moving comment – it brought a tear to my eye.
What a shame that your tree has never bourn fruit. We lost our quince tree this year and I’m definitely going to get another one.
Quinces are hard to find around here. I’ve found them in markets but only the Greek ones around Christmas time.