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
Hi Marilyn,
I am so pleased that our recipes worked for you! Thanks for taking the time to make a comment, much appreciated!
Just made five jars of Quince Jelly and five jars of Membrillo after reading all the advice on this web site.I have my own Quince tree that I planted about ten years ago.This year is the best crop ever but I have never had much luck with my jelly making. Many thanks.
Hi Georgina,
Ebay is a great resource. I use it a lot but bizarrely have never used it for jars. Thanks for leaving this very useful tip.
Some people earlier were wondering about jars. I have found that the cheapest and best jars can be found on Ebay. There are professional packaging companies on there, jars can be bought in reasonably large quantities and are shipped cheaply.
Hi Mrs P,
So pleased that you have been inspired to try your hand at quince jelly and membrillo making! It is fun and I find it relaxing too.
Glad that you are enjoying the site. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Hello there.
Having moved into a house with a quince tree I came across your site while researching what to do with these glorious fruits. I’ve been following everyone’s progress with great interest and yesterday and today were my turn. I’ve never made jam or jelly before so there was a fair amount of trepidation but then I decided to treat it as a culinary adventure ….. and I’ve had great fun. My quince jelly is cooling in its jars and my membrillo is glooping away on the stove as I type this. Can’t wait to try it.
I’m putting my membrillo in little glass ramekin jars to give as gifts to friends (if it turns out alright!).
Clare’s boyfriend right – prepare for the sugar rush!!
Great site, by the way.
Hi Sailor Sam,
If you put your jelly into jars (with cellophane tops and a rubber band or screw top lids) it will last much longer. At least a year. The problem with plastic is that the flavour gradually leeches into the jelly or membrillo – probably sic months would be your limit before you notice this happening.
Sorry to put a dampener on your method. A friend ruined a batch of membrillo by storing it in a plastic container in the fridge.
Glad that you are enjoying the site. I would give my eye teeth for a day off too indulge in quince jelly/membrillo production!
Hi Clare’s Boyfriend,
The goverment should have taken membrillo into account before they slashed the quota for NHS dentists.
It would be great to hear how you get on!
Clare is too busy to post right now as she is drowning in quince pulp. She assures me that i will love the result, i really dont doubt it, though i do wonder how i will afford to pay the dental work afterwards.
We will endeavour to let you know how it turns out if we manage to avoid diabetic comas.
Today was the quince day, that is making the jelly and now trying (as I type) to make a successful monbrillo. When we moved here we discovered 3 small but old looking quince trees. The fruits are the small apple shaped fruits, I think ‘Japonica’ or is it ‘Malformis’. Maybe these are the same anyway. This is the third year of being a ‘quinceaholic’, great tasting but very time consuming to make. It probably writes a day off for me. Slow or what? I do not put the jelly into jars but into little ‘tupperware’ like tubs. So far the jelly seems to keep well in these, well at leased for 5 months. Is this an accepted practice? By the way, great site!
Hi Isabel,
Membrillo should have a shelf life of about 2 years if stored in an airtight container, according to Oded Schwartz. Perhaps you don’t need to freeze it?