Last weekend I bought some quince at the bazaar that was going on at the city library. Quince were not available where I lived in Canada so I first became acquainted with them here in Japan. They grow in Canada, but not where I lived.

Quince are very hard fruit. They have a waxy, yellow skin, black seeds inside and a core that is similar to a pear, a texture that is slightly gritty, like a pear (unripe) and a beautiful fragrance.

I’ve made quince jelly in the past and enjoyed it. Again, it has a beautiful fragrance - flowery in nature - and a lovely deep pink colour. But I didn’t want to make jelly this year. A quick search on the internet at a few of my favourite cooking sites led to the discovery of membrillo, a quince paste that is popular in Spain from what I found. It is often eaten with a Spanish cheese.

I made the membrillo by peeling, coring, chopping and cooking the quince. It was then pureed in a blender, mixed with sugar, then further cooked on the stove and then in the oven.





The result is a soft jelly-like candy that is intensely flavoured. I don’t have any Spanish cheeses to try it with, but it tastes great as is as well as with some Edam cheese that I do have.

Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.