French pate de Coing (Quince paste) recipe is a typical winter recipe for many Mediterranean countries, called Cotognata in Italy and Membrillo in Spain. Quinces are special apples full of pectin, so their jam is firm and can be cut into solid squares. You can eat it as candy, with a piece of bread, or like they do in Spain with Manchego cheese.

Quince Paste served plain or coated with sugar

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What is a Coing - Quince
Various versions
Ingredients
Instructions
How to keep and serve it
Equipment
Top tips
📋 Quince Paste Recipe

What is a Coing - Quince

It is called Pâte de Coing in French, Cotognata in Italian, and Membrillo in Spanish.

Quince is practically an apple but cannot be eaten raw as it is very hard and bitter. But once cooked, its taste is sweet and fruity.

The flavor of the quince is very distinctive, halfway between a pear and an apple, and because the quince has a high content of pectin, the paste is firmer than a jam.

Quince paste is like candies; cut it into square bites, and they last for several weeks. It is a great edible gift and a gluten-free alternative to Christmas cookies.

For more unusual preserves you can make as edible presents, check out the category: Canned & Jams

Also, check the recipes:

Various versions

I checked out different recipes in different languages and found different versions.

Some peel the apples, some cook them whole, some add the sugar, and others add the caramel. The result may be different.

The Italian and French recipes are very similar, so I follow them.

Ingredients

Three quince
Sugar
Lemon

Instructions

This recipe is separated into three parts: first, we boil the quince, then mash it and cook it with the sugar, then wait two days before we cut it into cubes and serve.

Mashing the quince

Clean and cut the quince into quarters

Pot with boiling water squeezing a lemon in it

Fill a large pan with water and add some lemon juice

Place the quince into the pan and let them boil for 30 minutes

Drain them from their water

While still hot, pass them through a vegetable strainer

If you use a KitchenAid strainer, it will automatically remove the seeds and skin

Hint: if you are using a manual vegetable strainer, you have to remove the seeds and the skin before straining them

Check the weight of the mashed quince

For each 2 lb - 1 kg of cooked quince, you need to weigh 28 oz - 800 gr of sugar

Hint: the proportions are in weight, so you need a kitchen scale. You cannot use cups since they measure the volume.

Caramelizing the quince paste

Place the mashed quince and the sugar back into a pan

Bring it to a boil while stirring

Simmer for 40 minutes, continuously stirring, as the quince will tend to stick to the pot

You will slowly see the paste changing its color into deep orange-pink and will detach from the walls of the pot. The quince paste is ready

Cover a rectangular mold with aluminum foil or parchment paper

Pour the quince paste immediately before it cools down

Shape it flat with a wet knife or spatula

Cover with a cheesecloth and let it rest for 48 hours

Hint: the quince paste will be very sticky, do not put the cheesecloth directly over it. The paste needs to dry out, so place something on top that will let the air circulate.

Cutting it into cubes

Remove the quince paste from the mold

Cut it into slices

Cut each slice into a square or rectangular bite

You can coat them with sugar or serve them as they are

It can be eaten like candies or served as the Spanish do on a piece of bread with manchego cheese

How to keep and serve it

Once it is ready, I cut it into slices and let them dry. You can store them in airtight containers or jars.

Sprinkle with sugar to avoid them from sticking to each other.

It will last three months so that you can make it ahead of Christmas.

I keep it on a plate with Marron Glace, nuts, and gingerbread cookies. When the boys want a snack, they can help themselves.

Quince paste, marron glace and speculos cookies as a Christmas platter

Equipment

I recommend using an electrical vegetable strainer from KitchenAid that automatically removes the seeds and skin from the flesh.

It simplifies the entire process, and it is a good investment if you want to make several fruit preserves or mashed vegetables and potato recipes like, for example, gnocchi.

Other equipments you would need are:

You can use an electrical caldron if you do not want to stir for 40 minutes. You can also use it for polenta and risotto

Top tips

I recommend using an electrical vegetable strainer that automatically removes the seeds and skin from the flesh.
If you are using a manual vegetable strainer, you have to remove the seeds and the skin before straining them
Simmer for 40 minutes, continuously stirring, as the quince will tend to stick to the pot
The quince paste will be very sticky, do not put the cheesecloth directly over it. The paste needs to dry out, so place something on top that will let the air circulate.
You can store them in airtight containers or jars.
Sprinkle with sugar to avoid them from sticking to each other.

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📋 Quince Paste Recipe

This is a typical winter recipe for many Mediterranean countries. You can eat it as a candy, on a piece of bread or like they do in Spain with Manchego cheese. It will last for 3 months

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 10

Resting time 2

⏲️Total Time 2 1 30

Servings: loaf

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Author: Laura Tobin

Ingredients

3 quince yield 22 oz - 625 gr of mashed quince
1 lemon juice
15 oz caster sugar For each 2 lb - 1 kg of cooked quince, you need to weigh 28 oz - 800 gr of sugar

Equipment

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