Recipe: Quince paste
recipe is part of the Kitchen Projects QUINCE INDEX, a curated selection of recipes that celebrate quince. For more quince-piration, from pickles to cakes, stews to jams, jellies to tarts, click here to learn more
Quince Paste
When I was researching quince pastes (also known as quince cheese) - and there are a lot of recipes out there - I was surprised at just how many steps there are. They also mostly used 1:1 sugar which, for me, is a bit too sweet. As well as this, most recipes ask you to boil quince in water then DITCH ALL THE WATER (???????) - why on earth would anyone ever suggest this?! A lot of pectin is infused into that water and casting it aside seems foolish if making a thick set jelly is the goal.
You see, I’ve blended quince in the past and there is so much pectin it creates a thick, cloud-like texture without even any effort in adding sugar or cooking it to a ‘setting’ temp. So, I wondered if I could streamline the process. Rather than re-weighing the sugar after cooking and having to dirty several pans, this is a one-pot method.
The result is a small batch of membrillo paste that takes very little effort. I have to be honest, I haven’t tested this on a larger batch so I’m unsure of timings so please proceed with care and know that larger batches of anything just take a lot more time to come to temperature.
You do need an immersion/handblender and a thermometer, and making a small batch which heats up quickly means you don’t get the depth of colour you might be used to with membrillo, but the flavour is fantastic with perfect sliceability.
Small-batch quince paste (membrillo)
Makes about 350g paste, good enough for 2 x gifts or several cheeseboard sessions
Ingredients
2 x Quinces to make approx 400g prepped weight
300g Caster Sugar
200g Water
25ml Lemon Juice (optional)
Method
Peel and core the quinces, keeping the peels for scrap jelly.
Place in a saucepan (not too big, you want the quince to be immersed in the water) and add the water and sugar. Heat over medium heat and boil until the quince is soft, the liquid has reduced and it reads 104c on a thermometer.
Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes then blend with an immersion blender until smooth. At this point, you can set the quince as is to make a softly set, more tender paste:
Left: Setting without reducing - cute salmon coloured! Right: after cooking Otherwise, put the pan back on the heat and stirring constantly, cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes or until your paste has reached your desired thickness - you can really reduce it at this stage if you want a super solid paste. I find 10 minutes is optimum but you can go further. Just know that before any reducing has happened, it will already gel, so you don’t need to worry about that! Cook it to your liking, taking care not to burn.
Pour into a small container lined with greaseproof paper and leave to set completely, overnight should do it. Store in the fridge for 1-2 months.
