This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Quince Paste Recipe 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 is called Pâte de Coing in French, Cotognata in Italian and Membrillo in Spanish.
The flavour 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 will last for at least 3 months, so you can make a batch before Christmas and have a sweet snack ready anytime.
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.
I check out different recipes in different languages, and I found different versions. Some peel the apples, some cook them whole; some add the sugar others add the caramel. But the end result looks the same.
The Italian and the French recipes are very similar, so I follow them.
I boiled the apple without cutting and peeling them, and added caramel to the pulp.
Once it is ready I cut it into slices and let them dry. I cover them with kitchen foil and keep it in the fridge. When the boys want a snack, they can help themselves.
Quince Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 quince
- 3 cup caster sugar same amount as the weight of the quince
- 1 1/2 cup fresh water
Instructions
- Boil the quince as they are, without peeling them or cutting them for about 30/35 minutes. They have to be soft but not too mushy
- Sieve them on a fruit strainer. I use the KitchenAid attachment so I don't have to peel them
- Weight the pulp, I got 625 gr with 3 quince
- Take the same amount of sugar and make the caramel. For 625 gr of sugar, I used 400 ml of water. Bring the caramel to 120 C
- In the meantime cook the quince pulp over a pan of boiling water to remove as much water as possible
- Add the caramel to the quince and cook for another 30 minutes continuing to stir
- Cover a rectangular mould with parchment paper and pour the quince past inside. Let it rest for 24 hours
- The next day, remove the quince paste from the mould and cut it into slices or cubes
- Let it dry and serve it as it is, on a slice of bread or as the Spanish do with a manchego cheese
I enjoy quince but have never cooked it at home. This is such a helpful post – thank you!
thank you, I am glad you find it helpful
I live in Spain, so I know what quince paste is, but I’ve never even thought about making it from scratch before. Looks fab! Better than the stuff you get in the shops 🙂
yes, it is easy and they last for at least 3 months
I really struggled to get into quince, we have a tree/bush at the end of our plot but give them away to neighbours who use it to flavour pálinka, a fruit brandy not dissimilar to Eau de Vie. I’ll have to give this a try.
I really wish you were my neighbour, you would have a supply every winter
Looks delicious! I love quince!
thanks
Sounds so tasty!!
thanks