About a year ago, my mother came to visit my husband and me in Philadelphia and brought us, as always, a delectable basket of goodies. Included amongst the spoils was a plastic container of quince membrillo, something I had seen in specialty shops but had never tasted it. My mother suggested pairing a sliver of the quince paste with a slice of Zamorano cheese (a raw sheep’s milk cheese produced in northwestern Spain), which she also had included in our package. The combination was delicious. Since her visit I’ve been noticing quince paste everywhere: in more specialty shops, on menus as an accoutrement to cheese plates, and in cookbooks as a candy. Well, last week I was inspired to learn how to make it. I walked down to the Italian Market and visited my favorite produce shop, Anastasio’s. I ordered a case of quince, which are currently in season, picked it up the next day, and got to work. (You don’t have to buy a case–a case contains about 36 quince–but I wanted to make homemade quince jam with the remainder.) I was more than pleased with the results for a few reasons. Most importantly, the homemade paste evoked a much stronger quince flavor than the packaged version. Secondly, the brilliant red color of the homemade paste is beautiful and much more appealing than the deep, dark maroon hue of the store-bought. And thirdly, I made enough quince paste to use as gifts for three different friends with more than enough remaining for my husband and me to enjoy at home. A gift of a nicely packaged piece of quince paste paired with a nicely wrapped piece of Zamorano or similar hard Spanish cheese such as Manchego or Roncal makes for a lovely and unique house-warming gift.
5 from 1 review
