[Sca-cooks] Ripening quinces

[David Friedman]

>David/Cariadoc wrote:
>
>>  Incidentally, does anyone know if quinces can be ripened after
>>  picking? Many of mine are deadfalls, mostly a bit green.
>>
>
>
>
>You can ripen them on the countertop.  They will turn yellowish, 
>with a blush, and give off a perfume.  It's after midnight and I'm 
>not in reach of my cookbooks, but I remember reading a recipe about 
>using "fragrant" quinces, so that's what I've always done.  When 
>they turn yellow, they are indeed "fragrant," with a sweet and 
>rose-like aroma.  It's when my husband starts making comments about 
>the scent getting a little strong that I know they're ready for 
>cooking.
>
>
>
>My method for quince paste is to quarter and core the fruit and cook 
>it down slowly in it's own juice, taking out the peels as the fruit 
>lets go of them.  I continue to cook the mush until it traces - when 
>you draw a spoon across the bottom of a pan and it briefly leaves a 
>trail.  I then cool the pulp, weigh it, add an equal amount of 
>sugar, and return it to the pot and continue to cook on low heat 
>until you can drop a spoonful on a plate and no liquid seeps out and 
>the pulp does not run.  I drop dollops on parchment paper and put 
>them in a low oven to dry.
>
>
>
>You don't have to do all this at once.  I usually cook down the pulp 
>one day, then the next add the sugar and finish it off. 
>
>
>
>The longer you can simmer your quinces, the more intense the 
>orangey-red color will become.  A heavy-bottomed stainless steel or 
>enamelled pan on low heat works best.  I've also done it in a copper 
>preserving pan on a rack to raise it off the element (I wish I had a 
>gas stove for this), but in my experience it's more likely to scorch 
>than if I use my heavy-bottom stock pot.

Good instructions.

Do they correspond to any period recipe you could find? They don't 
fit any of the small number I was able to locate, but I'm not very 
well informed about nouvelle cuisine.
-- 
David Friedman
www.daviddfriedman.com
daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/