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[majorbloodnock]

Hi, all

 

Our quince tree seems to be getting set for a bumper crop this year, so I'm going to need some new ideas for using them up. I'll certainly be doing some more quince marmalade/jelly, I'm sure to have enough to do a few lamb and quince tagines and I know our local farm shop is likely to buy a box for them to sell on, but looking at the number of fruit ripening at the moment, I still think we'll have a surplus.

 

So, does anyone have any other tasty suggestions for using up quinces?

[TAJ]

quince cheese jelly - a harder quince jelly eaten with hard cheese - just like you do with grapes - it is great at christmas.

 

Tracy

[ClaireG]

When we were on holiday in Corfu in October, we went to an amazing resturant. It was in an orchard and i had a great quince crumble made from quinces that were grown on the tree i was sat under!!

[majorbloodnock]

Thanks, both

 

I'll take a look at those suggestions; I'd forgotten about quince cheese, but hadn't even thought about quince crumble.

[Milly]

Take care, the only time I tried to make quince cheese it turned into quince toffee. Which was very nice, but I was worried about losing my teeth.

 

I usually make jelly, as I don't have a huge amount of quinces, but middle eastern and mediterranean recipes would put them into stews, like your tagine. I once had quince alioli in a retaurant, with roast pork. It was like a garlic mayonnaise (always good for using up eggs) with quince jelly mixed in.

 

Milly

[majorbloodnock]

Thanks for that, Milly

 

The quince aioli sounds excellent, especially given the number I've got to dispose of. Last time this tree bore fruit, we got about 65lbs of quinces, but the signs this year suggest we're going to have a bigger crop.

[Peaches]

I am SO envious! A work colleague of OH's had a fab quince tree in her garden and let us come and take a load of fruit. We made quince jelly and quince cheese too. But her garden is in Oxford, so a bit too far away.

 

We've planted a quince tree here in the garden, but it's only about 5 foot.

 

Lucky you, Majorbloodnock.

[Olly]

This takes me back. My parents had a quince tree, and it bore loads of fruit. Occasionally passing children would see shiny green fruit on the tree and assume they were apples, and climb over the fence to scrump a few ... oh, the disappointment when they bit into one!

 

To be honest I don't remember mum ever making much with them, and we used most things that they grew. As I recall they need a heck of a lot of sugar to make them palatable, which is why membrillo (quince jelly) is the usual thing they're used for. It's lovely with cheese though!

[WitchHazel]

Quince vodka

[majorbloodnock]

Quince vodka

 

Good point well presented. Do you have a recipe perchance?

[chickenanne]

Add some to apple pies.... ohh, yum. Quince vodka sounds good though!

[WitchHazel]

Quince vodka

 

Good point well presented. Do you have a recipe perchance?

 

Hi, sorry, I've not been on the forum today.

 

The only recipe I have is rather vague. It's from a tip given to me by a lady who has hundreds of quinces every year. My quince tree only produced one quiince that year, and this is what she told me (which was the end of September, hence the Christmas reference:

 

grate your one quince up into a large preserving jar with about half a lb of sugar and a bottle of vodka. Leave till Christmas giving it a shake every couple of days. Delicious.

 

From my subsequent experience of making flavoured vodka with lots of fruit, I can refine it a bit.

 

Keep it in a cool dark place, and shake it every day or two. Leave it as long as you like. For quince, you should leave it for a minimum of a week. Probably don't need to leave it longer than about 2 weeks, but I doubt it matters much.

 

Before it's ready for drinking, you need to:

- strain all the solids out using a jelly bag

- put the strained liquid into a clean jar, and leave for a week to settle

- strain again then bottle, and leave to mature in the bottle(s) for a month before drinking.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Hazel

[majorbloodnock]

Fantastic. I'll definitely give that a go.

 

Sort of like Polish sloe gin with a twist....

[Lesley]

Perhaps you could take a temporary stall on a Farmers' Market and sell some? They sell for £6 a pound on our local market!

 

I have two young quince trees so will still be buying from the market for a while. I only like jelly made with quince as I can't bear the texture of the fruit - even worse than pears!