Quince cheese

As with medlars, quince are as autumnal as Nick Drake and the scent of burning applewood. Until a few years ago you either had to grow them yourself or know someone who did, but you can find them at more farmers’ markets and in more supermarkets with every year that passes.

Whatever else I might do with them - and great as they are poached, baked, vodkaed or turned into jelly - I usually make quince cheese: it keeps forever, is so good with cheese and cured meats, and you can ease it down into a jelly-like consistency with a little boiling water should you want.

In Spain this sweet, firm delight is known as membrillo. Allow a small piece, rolled in sugar, to dissolve on your tongue: don’t tell the Spanish, but it does a very passable impression of a posh fruit pastille. 

Back in the day, I used to quarter and core quinces before simmering - never straight forward as they are hard an ostrich’s kneecap - but in recent years, I’ve adopted the great Pam Corbin’s method of simmering quince whole: it makes life very much easier. Don’t peel the quince - it’s a pain as they are so hard, and the skin adds pectin to the pulp, helping to set it into the cheese.

You can use any number of quince as the ingredients are few and the weight of sugar equal to that of the puree.

8 quinces

water

500g caster sugar, give or take

one lemon, cut into 8 wedges

a few drops of sunflower oil

caster sugar for dusting

In a large pan, submerge the quince in water, along with a lemon. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until nicely soft - this can be anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes depending on the size and ripeness of the fruit. Top up with boiling water to keep the fruit covered as needed. Allow to cool, after which you can slip the flesh off the core with ease. Discard the core.

Stir in an equal volume of sugar as there is puree and simmer on a medium heat. Stir constantly.  Don’t let the heat get too high unless you are wearing chainmail - the puree with thicken as it cooks and may spit as it bubbles. 

Keep cooking and stirring until you can draw a spoon across the bottom of the pan and the puree takes a moment to close over behind it.

Use a flavourless oil, such as sunflower, to oil a dish or tin. Pour in the puree to a depth of 1-2cm. Leave to cool, then cover and allow to set overnight. Ease the cheese out of the dish onto a chopping board and cut into squares. Toss in caster sugar - this looks lovely and prevents the squares sticking together. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.