John headed off from Piopio for the day to dodge eating quince, I'm sure of it! Just kidding, but he isn't particularly fond of them, certainly not as much as I am. So I don't worry about having them when he's not around.
This is our first real harvest of quince here at Struan Farm, and I'm making the most of them with Nigel Slater's delicious Roasted Quince recipe. I post this recipe every year when the quince are in season. In previous years I've managed to score fruit from either sister-in-law Anna or friend Glen, but this is the first year we have enough fruit from our orchard here at Struan Farm. HOORAY! I'm dancing a little dance but just as well you can't see that.
The peeled and halved fruit is simmered in a sugar syrup with star anise and cloves until tender. The recipe says 25 minutes, mine usually take considerably less time than that; you don't want them disintegrating. After that they are roasted with some of the poaching liquid, the aromatics, and maple syrup.
The warm fruit is wonderfully fragrant from the oven, delicious with either softly whipped cream or yogurt. I've been known to eat them just as they come without any further embellishment whatsoever.
It seems people either like quince or they don't. Most have never tried them at all since the fresh fruit isn't available in conventional food stores. I'm not sure why this is the case, perhaps it isn't commercially grown here in NZ? Quince is an old fashioned fruit, native to Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Iran. It was grown in the New England (US) colonies in the 1800's, and in England as early as 1275. It is hard as a rock raw, but when poached or baked/roasted it is magically transformed. Perhaps people don't know how to use the fruit. Often roast quince is served as an accompaniment to roast meats. While some rave about quince paste with cheese and crackers, the effort involved in making paste is beyond me, way too much stirring for way too long (hours). So I'll leave paste making to others, sticking with my roast quince at least for now.
I'm really not sure why John doesn't like quince. He thinks the trees are ugly, perhaps that's a factor. In fact, the blossoms are quite beautiful in spring, I need to point that out. Maybe he'll evolve as our three trees start to deliver an increased quantity of fruit (she says, the eternal optimist...). He hates wasting anything we grow here at the farm, plus he will normally eat anything that involves cream, so perhaps that's the hook! I'll capture him eventually, I will.
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