Quinces, Wet
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the quinces
Choose fine, ripe quinces that are clear yellow and without spots.
Prick them with a fork and place them in a pan of cold water.
Boil and peel
Heat the pan on the fire until the quinces are tender.
Remove them from the heat and transfer to cold water.
Once cold, peel the skin off, cut into quarters, and remove the core.
As you peel, place them in a third pan of cold water to finish blanching.
If desired, add prepared cochineal or liquid carmine to achieve a red color.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ripe quinces
- Provide the main fruit, whose firm flesh softens into a tender, cooked texture when heated.
- Cochineal or liquid carmine
- Adds a red color to the cooked quinces, as an optional colouring.
The step that matters
Heating until tender. Quinces are firm and must be cooked gradually in water until the flesh softens fully. Undercooked fruit stays hard and grainy, while overcooking can make it break apart. Checking for tenderness with a fork helps you stop at the right point.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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