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Quince Paste

A sweet paste made from quince and sugar, cooked until thick and formed into squares.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓

Quince Paste

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the quinces

  1. Cook quinces in enough water to cover them until tender.

  2. Remove from heat.

  3. Let cool.

  4. Pass through a sieve.

Make the paste

  1. Weigh the fruit.

  2. Reduce the quince puree over low heat, stirring constantly.

  3. Mix with an equal amount of pounded sugar.

  4. Continue stirring until the mixture is dry enough to form a ball.

  5. Press the paste into shallow pans.

Cut and store

  1. Cut into small squares once cool.

  2. If needed, dry the squares gently with low heat.

  3. Store in tin cases with parchment paper between layers.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,444 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Quinces
Provide the fruit, pectin and tartness that give the paste its body and flavour.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, as it concentrates, helps the paste set firm enough to cut.

The step that matters

Reduce the quince puree over low heat, stirring constantly. Quince puree sticks and scorches easily as its sugars concentrate. Low heat and constant stirring prevent burning and give a smooth, evenly coloured paste that sets properly.

“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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