SC - Re: quince paste

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
 
> Thanks, I'll try it with the white cheese. I'll have to see if it tastes
> better on a well-aged white cheddar or the mozzarella. Seems strange, but
> people mentioned apple pie and cheese here a while back. I think I just
> had it straight out of the jar at Pennsic.

Either cheese would probably be good, but a classic (or one of several)
would be to use queso blanco, which has a sweet/salty quality to offset
the sweet/tangy quality of the queso de membrillo. I could be wrong, or
simply imagining things, but I have a vague recollection of seeing a
dessert of layered cheese and "cheese", possibly topped with a syrup. 
 
> I think this same store had a few guava items and maybe a guava paste
> very similar to the quince paste. Since I was looking more for medieval
> type items or at least things I could recognise I didn't pay it much
> attention.

Well, what does a good Spaniard make when he gets to the New World and
can't find any quinces?
 
> They also had some canned dolmas, as did another store we looked in.
> I sort of liked the one I tried at Pennsic in the Food Court. I might
> buy a can of these dolmas next time. Anyone have any comments on these
> or have a brand preferance?

Ah, okay. There's this about canned dolmas... I don't know  what you had
at Pennsic, and therefore don't know what you already have built in to
your personal concept, as it were, of dolmas, but I've always found that
a large component of the flavor of canned dolmas is the citric acid used
in preserving either the grape leaves themselves (if made from grape
leaves stored in a citric acid-y brine) or the dolmas overall. I have a
similar problem with that chopped-garlic-in-a-jar stuff. Canned dolmas
are edible, of course, but not really the same thing as homemade. For
most people, myself included, this isn't a big problem. I'm pretty sure
there's a recipe for homemade ones in The Old World Kitchen, of which I
believe you've mentioned owning a copy.   
 
> They also had lots and lots of different types of olives but I didn't
> spend much time looking there. Maybe next time.

Oh, you've gotta check out the olives. The selection in such stores is
very nearly a Mediterranean amusement park. Just be prepared for them to
have actual flavor (unlike most canned olives, some of which are
artifically ripened), and there's no guarantee you'll like all of them.
If I had to have one type of olive (for example, if I could have one
supply for when I'm stranded on that desert island), I think I'd choose
the huge Sicilian, ultra-firm, buttery-tasting, bright-green olives
stored in their own oil. They have a specific name, which I, of course,
forget. I'll have to buy some on Wednesday and get the name.  

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com