I've started to experiment with quince from Anna's orchard, mostly to see if we should plant a tree or two at Struan Farm this winter.
Two weeks ago the NZ Herald's Viva section published an article on the fruit and several recipes, which can be found here. This confirms my suspicion it's in contention for "fruit du jour."
I started with the recipe for "Baked Quince with Rhubarb, Ginger, Orange & Rum" from this article. I learned quite quickly they are not particularly user friendly when trying to quarter and core them. It took strength and dexterity to avoid major blood letting: the fruit is quite firm, to put it mildly. I began to wonder if I was overdue to sharpen my chef knives!
Once that was done the rest of the recipe was easy, although the instructions were to bake it for THREE hours covered with baking paper, CHECKING FREQUENTLY. Not sure how many people have three hours to hover around the kitchen, but that wouldn't normally be me.
When baked I found the dish just okay. While I liked the cooked texture of the fruit, I found this recipe a bit bland for my taste given the time and effort involved. I have since found different recipes by English chef Nigel Slater (Roast Quinces with maple syrup and star anise, found here) and American chef Deborah Madison (Poached Quinces, with cinnamon and cloves, found here) that look to be closer to what I envision would work well. Australian chef Bill Granger also mentions roasting them simply with butter and good honey.
What I've learned thus far about and from quince is that you must work with this fruit on its terms, in its own time (hours). It's alot like me, really. And for someone who's been rushing around way too much lately, it has been put on my path for this reason. I will take some time to learn this lesson. We can decide about the trees in due course.
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