Quince cheese (also known as quince paste) is a sweet and tart, thick jelly made of the pulp of the quince 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, 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.
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, mató, Picón cheese (Spain), Serra da Estrela cheese or Queijo de Azeit%C3%A3o. It is also often used to stuff pastries.
Regional variations
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 in Brazil and Colombia, squashes, apricots, 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 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 by Argentinian author José Hernández.
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 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, 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, 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.