Wednesday, October 5, 2011

quinces.





a quince is

rock-hard
fuzzy on the outside
often flecked with brown spots

a quince can have the form

of an apple
of a pear
and everything in between.


a quince tastes

bitter, if not sweetened
and still slightly bitter when sweetened,
like an apple cidre
yes,
it does taste somewhat like an apple.

it is it's own unique fruit,
so of course it has it's own taste.


if you have not made acquaintance with quinces yet,
read this article at wikipedia.

i'm lucky enough to be able to take this fruit from my parents wee quince tree.
this is the first year i tried out several different recipes,
and not only quince jam or jelly.

the compote is great for keeping this fruit long term. 
and the tarte was a surprise in every positive way.

i will quote my father, 
a man not afraid of blunt honesty and critique:
"excellent".

a apple tarte tatin, made well, 
will already result in an empty cake tray by the end of the day.
this tarte tatin with quinces is no different.

i hope to interest you and excite you with this local fruit.
cook it in any which way, 
sweeten it with sugar or honey, 
add some white wine and apple juice and you have a great dessert. 




tarte tatin aux coings

200g sugar
1-2 quinces
50g butter
large pinch of fleur du sel
200g puff pastry

preheat the oven to 250 degrees celcius.
rub down "fluff" from quinces, peel them, cut in half and remove core.  
cut in thin slices.
in cast-iron pan, melt 150g of the sugar and then stir until caramelized and amber colored.
place quince slices in circle like form, starting from the middle, into the sugar.
watch out, it might sizzle a bit.
bake in oven for 8-10 minutes.
remove from oven, sprinkle cut butter on the quinces. sprinkle the rest of sugar and the fleur du sel on them as well.
for the puff pastry, i used a bought one, which was not frozen.
cut the puff pastry into circle which fits the pan, covering the fruit completely.
turn down oven to 220 degrees.
bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
place on wire rack and wait five minutes to cool.
pour our the excess juice into the kitchen drain.
with help of oven gloves and a platter, flip the tarte around and remove the pan.
enjoy hot or cold, plain or with vanilla ice cream.





quince compote

1 kg quinces
1 liter water
1 vanilla bean, split
400g sugar
200ml applejuice
200ml white wine, sweet 

glass jars to fill compote into

measure water into a large pot. add vanilla bean.
rub down "fluff" from quinces, peel them, cut in half and remove core.
now slice them, dice them, cut them into whatever form you want them to have for your compote.
heat the water, add the cut quinces and bring the water to a boil.
cook quinces until they are "al dente".
if you want them firm to the bite cook them only shortly, if you'd rather have them soft, then cook them a few minutes longer.
depending on the fruit it will take 3-8 minutes.
meanwhile, warm your glass jars in a water bath.
now remove your quinces with a skimmer and fill them into your jars.
sieve your quince fond into another pot.
add sugar, apple juice and wine.
boil with the vanilla.
remove the vanilla and fill your fond into your glass jars, covering the fruit completely.
immediately screw on your lids and turn the jars upside down.
if you have leftover fond, you can use it as a sweet dessert drink or make a fruit jelly out of it.