Quince cheese (also known as quince paste) is a sweet and tart, thick jelly made of the pulp of the
quince
The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which contains apples, pears, and other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright golden-yel ...
fruit. It is a common confection in several countries.
In the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, this traditionally Mediterranean food is called ''ate'' or ''dulce de membrillo'' in Spanish, ''marmelada'' or ''doce de marmelo'' in Portuguese, ''marmelo'' in Galician, ''marmiellu'' in Asturian and ''codonyat'' in Catalan. It is a firm, sticky, sweet reddish hard paste made of the quince (''Cydonia oblonga'') fruit. It is also very popular in Hungary (as ''birsalmasajt''), Portugal and Brazil (as ''marmelada''), France (as ''pâte de coing'' in French and ''codonhat'' in
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
, or ''cotignac'' in
Orléans
Orléans (,"Orleans" (US) and the Roman cookbook of
Apicius
''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...
, a collection of Roman cookery recipes compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD, gives recipes for stewing quince with
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
.
Historically,
marmalade
Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...
was made from quince. The English word "marmalade" comes from the Portuguese word ''marmelada'', meaning "quince preparation" (and used to describe quince cheese or quince jam; "''marmelo''" = "quince"). Nowadays (in English), "A marmalade is a jellied fruit product which holds suspended within it all or part of the fruit pulp and the sliced peel. It is prepared from pulpy fruits, preferably those that contain pectin. Citrus fruits are especially desirable because of their flavor and pectin content."
Preparation
Quince cheese is prepared with quince fruits. The fruit is peeled and cored, and cooked with a teaspoon of water and from 500 to 1000 g sugar per kg of quince pulp, preferably in a pressure cooker, but it can also be left for longer (40 minutes–1 hour) in a regular pot, in this case with a little more water (which will then evaporate). It turns a light brick colour in the pressure cooker and on a regular pot, after a long cooking time, dark brick colour. After leaving it to set for a few days on earthenware/clay bowls (preferable), topped with parchment paper rounds, it becomes a relatively firm quince paste/cheese, dense enough to hold its shape. The taste is sweet but slightly astringent (depending on the amount of sugar used), and it is similar in consistency, flavor and use to guava cheese or
guava paste
Goiabada (; from ''Portuguese'' goiaba, guava) is a conserve made of red guavas and sugar, commonly found throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world. It dates back to the colonial times of Brazil, where guavas were used as a su ...
.
Quince jelly is made with the skins and core, including pips, that were discarded when preparing quince cheese. They are cooked until halved in volume and the water is then sieved. For every 1000 ml water, 500 g sugar is added and the concoction is again boiled, until thread point is achieved.
Quince cheese is sold in squares or blocks, then cut into thin slices and spread over toasted bread or sandwiches, plain or with cheese, often served for breakfast or as a snack, with
manchego
Manchego (, ) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the Sheep milk, milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. It is aged between 60 days and 2 years.
Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, often containin ...
,
mató
Mató () is a fresh cheese of Catalonia made from sheep' or goats' milk, with no salt added.
It is usually served with honey, as a traditional and emblematic Catalan dessert known as .
Description and origin
Mató is a whey cheese similar to ...
,
Picón
Picón is a municipality in Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 661. It was also a province in New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally ...
In Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador, the (quince) is cooked into a reddish gelatin-like block or firm reddish paste known as '. Similar confections are made in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay by replacing quince with other ingredients, such as
guavas
Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native ...
in Brazil and Colombia,
squashes
Squash most often refers to:
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita''
Squash may also refer to: Sports
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...
,
apricots
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
, and
figs
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...
in Uruguay, and
sweet potatoes
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...
in Argentina and Uruguay.
The pastafrola, a sweet tart common in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, is usually filled with quince paste. In Argentina and Uruguay, a slice of (quince cheese) eaten with a slice of soft cheese is considered the national dessert. In Argentina it is referred to as . In Uruguay it is known as Martín Fierro in reference to the folk character from the epic poem
Martín Fierro
''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín F ...
by Argentinian author
José Hernández José Hernández may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Jose Acosta Hernandez (born 1966), Cuban-born American artist
* José Hernández (writer) (1834–1886), Argentine writer
* Pepe Hern (José Hernández Bethencourth, 1927–2009), American ...
.
In Brazil, a dessert known as is made with , guava paste with a similar consistency to quince cheese, and cheese. In May 2022, a variety of quince cheese known as was recognized as an Immaterial Cultural Heritage of the
Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...
of
Goiás
Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...
.
In the Philippines, it is known as ''membrilyo'' and is generally made from guava. It is usually served as a dessert during the Christmas Eve dinner (''noche buena'').
In French "quince paste" or ''pâte de coing'' is part of the Provence Christmas traditions and part of the
thirteen desserts
The thirteen desserts (Occitan: ''lei tretze dessèrts'') are the traditional dessert foods used to celebrate Christmas in the French region of Provence. The "big supper" (''le gros souper'') ends with a ritual 13 desserts, representing Jesus Ch ...
, which are the traditional dessert foods used in celebrating Christmas in the French region of Provence. In the city of
Orléans
Orléans (,"Orleans" (US) and Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
, all of Hungary, and continental Croatia, i.e.,
Slavonija
Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...
quince cheese is an often prepared sweet and is named ''kitn(i)kes'', derived from German "Quittenkäse".
Quince cheese, a New England specialty of the 18th century, required all-day boiling to achieve a solidified state, similar to the French ''cotignac''.
In Hungary, quince cheese is called ''birsalmasajt'', and is prepared with small amounts of lemon zest, cinnamon or cloves and often with peeled walnut inside.
Péter Melius Juhász
Péter Melius Juhász (1532 – 25 December 1572) was a Hungarian botanist, writer, theologist, and bishop of the Calvinist Reformed Church in Transylvania. He famously debated with Ferenc David in a series of synods resulting in the Brief Confes ...
, the Hungarian botanist, mentioned quince cheese as early as 1578 as a fruit preparation with medical benefits.
In
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
, it is sometimes prepared with addition of finely grated walnut, hazelnut or pumpkin seeds. Sometimes a certain amount of sugar would be replaced by an equal amount of linden honey.
Bocadillo
The () or (in Cheli), in Spain, is a sandwich made with Spanish bread, usually a baguette or similar type of bread, cut lengthwise. Traditionally seen as a humble food, its low cost has allowed it to evolve over time into an iconic piece of ...
*
Goiabada
Goiabada (; from ''Portuguese'' goiaba, guava) is a conserve made of red guavas and sugar, commonly found throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world. It dates back to the colonial times of Brazil, where guavas were used as a su ...
*
Lekvar
A fruit butter, or lekvar is a sweet spread made of fruit cooked to a paste, then lightly sweetened. It falls into the same category as jelly and jam, but is differentiated by its completely smooth texture. Apple butter and plum butter are com ...
*
List of spreads
This is a list of spreads. A Spread (food), spread is a food that is literally spread, generally with a knife, onto food items such as bread or Cracker (food), crackers. Spreads are added to food to enhance the flavour or texture of the food, whic ...
*
Thirteen desserts
The thirteen desserts (Occitan: ''lei tretze dessèrts'') are the traditional dessert foods used to celebrate Christmas in the French region of Provence. The "big supper" (''le gros souper'') ends with a ritual 13 desserts, representing Jesus Ch ...