Quince Cheese

I know this is not a pudding, but quince cheese is so delicious, it deserves to be one!    A cheese is a traditional preserve made in time of plenty, as a lot of ingredients go into relatively small pots after a lot of cooking.  However, they keep well, and in fact shouldn't be eaten before 3-4 months have passed.   They develop their flavour and colour over time.   This is a recipe from an old copy of Good Housekeeping, and its recipes are definitely maturing well! 

Quince cheese is similar to Membrillo, and is absolutely delicious with cheese, especially Manchego and (for me) Cornish Yarg.     I have given a quantity in the recipe below, but if you can only find a handful of quinces, make it anyway.

The photo below shows the raw quinces with this year's cheese - it's pale and anaemic compared to last year's richer, more terracotta coloured preserve.

Quince Cheese

Quince Cheese

3 ¼ lb/1.5kg quinces, washed but not peeled

Water to cover

1lb/450g sugar to 1lb/450g pulp

Chop the quinces into four to six pieces (using a sharp knife and some effort as they are very tough).   Put everything into a preserving pan and add water so that it just covers them.  Simmer for at least half an hour until the fruit is very soft and you can stick a knife into them easily.    

Use a plastic sieve if you have one (it stops the fruit from discolouring) and push the cooked fruit and a bit of the water through the sieve – I find it helps to pick out the tough cores and stems at this point.   Discard the remaining water and wash out the pan.   Weigh the pulp and add the sugar.  Over a medium heat stir it until the sugar has dissolved, then raise the heat and boil it gently until the bubbling mass is very thick and if you scrape a wooden spoon across the pan, it will leave a clean line (though not for long!).   As it gets closer to this stage, the fruit will try to stick and burn on the bottom of the pan, so give it your full attention and keep it moving. 

I prefer to use little glass or pottery pots/jars, so you can in principle turn the cheese out at some point.   Wipe the insides of the jars with olive oil.   Pour in the cheese, and cover each jar with a waxed disc (if you don’t have any large enough, baking parchment will do).   Then cover with a standard jam pot cover or, if the pot is too large, cling film.   

I can’t tell you how much this makes – probably about 6-8 little pots at least, but you will have a stash of beautiful amber coloured quince cheeses at the end!