We have a lovely park on Bainbridge Island called Battlepoint Park. It’s open acreage on the west side of the island. If you walk the circumference, it’s about 1.6 miles. One of the things I love about this park are the blackberry bushes and the quince trees, I guess that’s two things. There are 4-5 quince trees that boast a nice quantity of quince in the fall. When I see some starting to fall to the ground, I know they are close to ripe. I pick a few - I only need four to five - and bring them home to continue to ripen on the counter. This week, one started to get too ripe, so on Monday I decided to make quince cheese.
What is quince cheese? First off, it’s not really cheese, but it is formed into a loaf at the end resembling a block of cheese. It’s a fruit preserve made of sugar and quince that you serve alongside cheese or other dishes. You can also cut it into small cubes and roll them in granulated sugar to make jellies.
Ingredients:
How to make:
-
Chop the quinces into 1-inch cubes, including the seeds. Put them into a medium saucepan and just cover them with water.
-
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 1 hour or so. Once the quince can be pierced easily with a fork, remove from heat.
-
Use a food mill to puree the pulp and separate out the seeds. On a kitchen scale, pour the puree into the saucepan to weigh how much there is. Add an equal amount of sugar.
-
Return the saucepan to the stove and simmer for about an hour, frequently stirring with a heat-proof spatula to prevent it from burning. Toward the end of cooking, as it gets thicker, constantly stir.
-
It is done when you can scrape your heat-proof spatula across the bottom of the pan and it takes a second for it to come back together. Pour into parchment paper lined ramekins and let cool on the counter.
-
When cool enough to handle, cut around the inside of the ramekin with a sharp knife to release the quince cheese. Keep wrapped in waxed paper in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
