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 Sue
I’m sorry but I have no idea. I imagine that they must be but can find no evidence as yet.
I have 2 rowan trees in my garden which produce lovely white berries! Are these edible, and if so, do you have any recipes?
I already make Rowan jelly with the red berries, but not sure if the white ones are edible.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Thanks
Sue
Hi Russell
You might be lucky and find quinces (from Greece) in the market now. It’s getting towards the end of the Greek quince season but worth having a look.
Quince cheese and membrillo are similar. Sometimes membrillo is dried out more, cut into squares, rolled in sugar and sreved as sweetmeats.
What a fantastic site, so much information on the quince. Is it too late to obtain good fruit now? or would I be to late for this year? what is the difference if any between Quince cheese and Membrillo?
Hi Jinny
My quince cheese was dark red. My quince jelly was a pinkish amber colour.
Simmering the fruit rather than boiling makes the process easier to control. Perhaps your sugar burnt a bit?
I wish I’d found this website before I made my first ever batch ofquince cheese this evening. I think I may have done something wrong because my cheese is not coral pink as suggested elsewhere but a really dark brown. The recipe I followed said the fruit/sugar mixture should be boiled fior 45 minutes – but I wonder whether simmering would have improved the colour(?)
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment.
And thanks for the quince jam recipe!
We can buy (rarely) home grown quinces in the Autumn in the UK. Around this time of year we can buy imported quinces from Greece. Much larger but still very tasty!
I was very interested to see that your quince cheese keeps for years. I have read about this. I think we all may have become too obsessed with canning and bottling. I seal my quince cheese with cellophane lids and store them in the larder. Quince cheese does improve with age.
Quince jelly is superb and well worth trying.
Quince cheese, Membrillo, is a gem that has been forgotten for years in the UK. Now experiencing a grand revival.
Hi. I’ve been eating quince cheese since a small child — my Hungarian grandmother made it and it was a great treat. I couldn’t find quinces for many years, but now shop at a large supermarket with many Latino customers (near Boston, Massachusetts, USA). They have quinces in the fall, $2.00 each, well worth the price. I make quince jam in jars (chop quinces with skin and seeds, cook until soft with very little water, put through food mill, cook pulp with same amount of sugar, and put in jars.) I have also cooked the same concoction for hours, over a flame-tamer, and eventually it becomes very stiff and is quince cheese. I just pour it into teacups or little bowls or whatever I have, tie muslin or another cloth over the top to keep the dust off, and it sits there for months or years, ready to slice and eat. One of my children LOVES it, one really doesn’t. But as far as it’s becoming trendy, I hadn’t seen it ever in Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazine here in the US ever, until the last year when it has shown up once or twice as an exotic. Being a flavor from my childhood, I am happy to see that others are being exposed to its wonderfulness.
Hi Alison,
I haven’t tried making these sort of sweetmeats but if I was you I would put yours on trays in the airing cupboard to dry out for a few days. When you think that they are ready put them in an airtight box with a sprinkling of sugar. The problem that you have is that your sweets contained too much moisture.
Hi
Just found the web site as am having a crisis with my first batch of quince cheese from home tree.Cooking and set were not a problem .Then spent sat am cutting and rolling cheese in sugar as suggested in preserving book and layered into an air tight box. Looked at box today and all the sugar has disolved what should I do ! Had wanted to keep it for christmas presents but not sure it will now last. Help.