Quince Paste (Membrillo)

Name: Quince Paste (Membrillo)
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 2.2kg ripe quinces; 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 vanilla pod); 1/2 lemon; 600g sugar (exact amount determined during preparation)

October 17, 2008

Fasting Recipes Spanish Jam and Preserves Fruits

I found this recipe online as a traditional Spanish treat called Membrillo, which they eat with a sheep's cheese called Manchego. But as I recall, this paste was also made in Romania in the old days, along with plum paste. We would store it in the winter pantry, in the cold, wrapped in paper, and when we craved something sweet, we'd cut a little cube that was aromatic and slightly chewy.

I reduced the amount of sugar typically called for in this recipe, but I don't think you need more - it comes out sweet enough with this amount. If I had added more, I think the quince flavor wouldn't be as pronounced. I was a bit worried that using so little sugar the paste wouldn't set firmly enough to cut into pieces, but I don't think that's the only factor - it depends more on the cooking time and the pectin content in the quinces. I was right, as it set perfectly.

Ingredients

2.2kg ripe quinces
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 vanilla pod)
1/2 lemon
600g sugar (exact amount determined during preparation)

How to prepare quince paste (membrillo)

Wash the quinces well and peel them (use a vegetable peeler, it's very easy). Slice them and remove the cores. As you cut the quinces, place them in water to prevent browning.
* don't throw away the peels and cores - you can make jelly from them
Once you've cleaned all the quinces, drain the water you kept them in and place them in a wide pot with a thick bottom (I used a cast iron wok, it worked excellently!). Add enough water to cover them, add the cinnamon (or vanilla) and lemon zest cut into strips with a vegetable peeler (without the white pith, which is bitter). Simmer until the quinces are soft and a fork pierces them easily (about 30 minutes).
Remove the cinnamon stick and drain the quinces.
* save the cooking water if you want to make jelly!
Blend the cooked quinces until you get a smooth paste. Weigh the paste.
Put the paste back in the pot and add sugar and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. I added sugar equal to half the weight of the paste. So I had 1.2kg paste and added 600g sugar. Depending on how sweet you want it, you can increase the sugar up to the same weight as the paste (in my case that would have been 1.2kg sugar... unnecessarily much in my opinion).
Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn on the bottom. In the last 15 minutes, I increased the heat a bit and stirred continuously to speed up the setting. It's ready when the paste is so thick you can barely stir it and it all gathers around the spoon when you stir. Also, it takes on an orange-brown color, similar to caramel.
Grease a pan with butter and spread the paste in an even layer. To level it, use the back of a spoon dipped constantly in cold water. Bake at 50°C for 1 hour to dehydrate it further.
* I put it in a 26cm springform pan to get a thin finger-thick layer that I could cut with pastry cutters; you can use a smaller square pan to get a thick layer and cut it into cubes like Turkish delight; or use a bowl and when dry, flip it over to get a nice dome of paste...
Let it cool in the pan and then flip onto a platter (I just removed the springform sides, it was easy 😉 ). You can portion it now if you like. I used pastry cutters. It keeps for a long time in the cold, stored in paper or a box, whole or portioned. If you portion it, place the pieces in a box with parchment paper between each layer so they don't stick together.