As a devoted cheese lover, I’m always looking for new ways to make my cheese plate more fun. One of my most favorite finds is dulce de membrillo, a quince paste of Spanish origin.
In Spain, it’s traditionally served with Manchego cheese, but there are lots of other cheeses, like all sorts of brie, that would go well with this delicious marmalade paste.
Making membrillo takes some time and attention, but trust me - this delectable treat is well worth the effort and can be stored in your fridge for at least a year, given of course you don’t eat it all right away.
We have a late fall this year and quince are still in season now, so all you cheese lovers out there, hurry-hurry, chop-chop!
I will not give your precise quantities, but rather ratios so you can use it for any amount of quince.
You will need:
- 1 part of quince puree (recipe follows)
- ½ to 1/5 parts sugar* (by weight)
- Lemon juice, to taste
- Lemon zest (optional), to taste
- Optional: vanilla extract; dried lavender
*As a rule, more sugar is added – 2/3 to 1 part sugar to 1 part quince pure. Besides making membrillo too sweet to my taste, sugar helps thickening the marmalade faster and make its color more deep and beautiful. The less sugar your put, the more time you may need to cook dulce de membrillo down to the right consistency and the lighter color it will be.
Wash quince thoroughly and cut each in quarters. Remove the cores and other tough parts. Put in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook on a mild simmer until very tender, but not mushy; Depending on a kind of quince, it may take from 20 to 40 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the quince to a colander and let it drain about 10 minutes. The more liquid is gone now, the less time is will take to reduce it to a thick paste.
Don't discard the water in which you cooked the quince. You can boil it down to a couple of tablespoons and add to the quince later or turn it into a delicious drink by adding sugar and lemon juice and chilling in the refrigerator.
Put the quince into a food processor and pulse until it turns into a smooth puree. Now measure the weight of the puree and take an appropriate amount of sugar by weight. Transfer the puree into a pot and bring to a simmer. Careful here because thickening membrillo spits hot lava just like tomato sauce does. Keep the pot covered with a lid (leave it slightly open) or a splatter screen and, when stirring, wear long sleeves and use a kitchen mitten to protect your hands from burns.
Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the puree stirring often until it reduces into a thick paste, about 1.5-3.5 hours, depending on how water are the fruits and how much sugar you use. By the end of this time, the puree will change its color from light beige to almost mahogany (again, with less sugar the color will be much lighter).
Keep in mind that at the beginning of reducing you will need to stir the puree every once in a while, but closer to the end, say, the last half an hour, you will have to do it very often to prevent it from burning. Also, using a nonstick pan can be of much help.
When the puree has turned very thick, stir in lemon juice and remove from the heat. Line a baking dish or two, depending on their size and on how much quince paste you are making, with parchment paper and grease it slightly with oil or butter. Spread the quince paste on the parchment paper in an even layer, about ½ to 1 inch thick and smooth the top with a spatula. If the paste is too thick and doesn’t cooperate, put another piece of parchment paper on top and spread the paste by pressing with your hands.
Heat your oven to 150F or, if the minimum temperature of your oven is higher than that, switch on the lowest temperature possible and keep your oven door ajar. Put the paste into the oven and let it sit there until it gets pretty solid. It can take from 1 to 5-6 hours, depending on the consistency of the puree and the thickness of the layer. The logic is simple: the thicker the quince puree, the faster it dries; the thicker the layer of the membrillo, the longer it takes to dry it throughout.
Take the membrillo out of the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover the baking dish(es) with a plate or a cutting board and carefully turn upside down releasing the membrillo. Slice or cut into pieces to your liking or leave whole. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge.
Serve with cheese. If the membrillo seems too thick, leave it at room temperature for about 30 min or until it gets softer.
Last time, I used only 1/5 part of sugar to 1 part of membrillo, and along with lemon juice added a bit of non-alcohol vanilla extract and lavender infused water (just cover 1 Tbsp of lavender with 2-3 Tbsp of boiling water and steep for about 10-15 minutes). This was my most favorite membrillo of all so far. Smooth, barely sweet, with a perfect touch of vanilla and lavender – absolutely heavenly!
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