Recipe: Quince Sweet (Dulce De Membrillo) for Lil

QUINCE SWEET (MEMBRILLO)
Source: My Kitchen in Spain: 225 Authentic Regional Recipes by Janet Mendel

"On a trip through the sierra of Ronda in Andulsia, on the way to the beautiful town of Arcos de la Frontera, we stopped at a mountain village for lunch. It was autumn, and clouds swirled around pine-clad peaks. Rain fell steadily in the village, and no one was in the streets. We finally found a small inn where meals were served. We were the only guests.

The food was stupendous. We were served a wild rabbit - brought in that morning from traps - cooked in a wine sauce and two pork tongues served whole, braised tender in a slightly sweet sauce. For dessert, there was Dulce de Membrillo, still slightly warm and quivery. The young man who served us said his mother had made the rose-colored jelly that morning.

Quince Sweet is increasingly easy to find in American food shops. Serve it for breakfast with toast, for dessert with a few walnuts and fresh white cheese, or paired with an aged cheese as an hors d'oeuvre.

I include the recipe for Membrillo in case you should happen to have a prolific quince tree or find a bounty of this fragrant fruit in the market. It is a wonderfully old-fashioned fruit and full od flavor. Quince is naturally high in pectin, which causes this jam to set into a dense, solid form. You can even add a little quince to orange marmalades and othe preserves to help them set."

5 lbs. quinces (5 to 6 latge fruits)
3 lbs. sugar (6 3/4 cups)

Wash the quinces and combine them in adeep pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook them, until they are tender if pierced with a skewer, about 45 minutes. Remove the quinces from the water and cool them. Reserve the liquid.

Peel and core the quinces. Puree the fruit in batches in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. You should have 6 to 7 cups of puree.

Combine the quince puree in a heavy pot with the sugar and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bring the fruit and sugar mixture to a boil stirring constantly, then reduce the heat so it gently simmers. Simmer the quince puree until it is reduced to a thick jam. As it cooks down, you will have to stir constantly so it doesn't scorch. The jam is done when it becomes glossy and translucent and begins to stick to the bottom of the pot - about 30 minutes. A test spoonful on a cold plate solidifies immediately.

While the puree is cooking, line a 4 by 12 by 3-inch terrine mold or loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic extends beyond the edges.

When the puree is thickened, spoon it into the prepared mold. Tap the mold to settle the mixture. Let cool, uncovered, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Unmold the solidified jelly. If desired, it can be cut into 2 inch-thick crosswise slabs and each slab individually warpped in plastic film. The quince jelly keeps refrigerated for up to 3 months.

To serve quince jelly as a tapa, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes and spear them on toothpicks with cubes of aged Monchego cheese.