Quince is the least understood fruit on the winter table. Hard and astringent raw, it keeps most people at a distance; yet its real value emerges only through cooking.
When is quince in season?
Quince is harvested between October and January.
The heaviest period is November and December.
In Turkey the Aegean, Marmara and western Mediterranean regions are the main growing areas.
Quince picked in early October is not yet fully ripe; its acidity is high and its aroma weak.
Quince picked at the end of November is fully ripe.
The downy texture on its skin has reduced and its colour turned yellow.
A greenish quince has been picked early.
Its scent is a marker of ripeness too; a ripe quince gives off a clear, sweet smell.
That scent is the fruit's most recognisable property.
A quince left in a bowl perfumes the room it sits in.
Why is it hard and astringent raw?
There are two reasons.
The first is tannin. Quince contains a high proportion of it.
Tannin binds to the proteins in the mouth and creates an astringent sensation.
The same compound occurs in tea and red wine.
The second is cell structure. Quince cell walls are thick and contain hard stone cells.
Those cells exist in pears too but far more densely in quince.
Cooking resolves both.
Heat oxidises the tannins and the astringency diminishes.
The cell walls soften at the same time and the texture changes.
Quince is therefore almost always eaten cooked.
Raw consumption is possible but limited to very ripe fruit.
Why does it redden when cooked?
That is quince's most striking property.
The whitish yellow fruit turns pink and then red under long cooking.
The reason is the polymerisation of tannins and phenolic compounds under heat.
Those reactions produce red-coloured compounds.
The colour change takes time.
Under brief cooking the quince stays yellow.
Quince simmered two or three hours reddens markedly.
Cooking in a covered pot deepens the colour.
Adding sugar supports it too.
Some recipes put the quince seeds into the pan in a cloth.
The seeds are rich in pectin and tannin; they strengthen both the colour and the set.
That is a traditional and effective method.
| Use | Cooking time | Colour | Texture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quince dessert | 2-3 hours | Deep red | Soft, whole |
| Quince jam | 1.5-2 hours | Red-amber | In pieces |
| Quince marmalade | 2-2.5 hours | Deep amber | Homogeneous |
| In a meat dish | 40-60 minutes | Pale yellow | Firm |
| In a compote | 30-45 minutes | Pale pink | Firm |
How is it used in jams and desserts?
Quince is among the fruits highest in pectin.
That is a great advantage in jam making.
No added pectin is needed; the fruit sets itself.
Quince jam gels even when the sugar is kept low.
The quince dessert is a different product.
The fruit is halved or quartered and simmered a long time in syrup.
The aim is to keep the fruit whole and to develop the colour.
Clotted cream or walnuts go on top.
That dessert is a winter classic of Turkish cuisine.
Quince marmalade is made by cooking the fruit crushed.
It is used at breakfast and between cake layers.
Some regions also produce a quince fruit leather.
Pairing quince with cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel is classic.
Does it have a place in meat dishes?
It does, and it is used increasingly.
The acidity and slight astringency of quince balance fatty meats.
Its pairing with lamb comes from Ottoman cuisine.
Lamb stewed with quince is the best known example of that tradition.
It is used with chicken and turkey too.
Quince cooks more slowly than meat.
But adding it in the last forty minutes suffices; added earlier it falls apart.
It is cut into thick slices.
Some recipes brown the quince lightly in butter first; that seals the surface and prevents it collapsing.
It works well with deli products too; quince marmalade appears on boards served with smoked meats and hard cheeses.
What is the nutritional value of quince?
A hundred grams of raw quince is around 57 calories.
The fibre content is high: 1.9 grams.
It contains vitamin C, 15 milligrams per hundred grams.
But a significant part of that vitamin C is lost during cooking.
It also carries potassium, copper and iron.
Its tannins and phenolic compounds act as antioxidants.
Quince seeds contain a gel-like substance called mucilage.
It has traditionally been used to soothe the throat.
But the seeds should not be chewed; they contain small quantities of cyanogenic compounds.
Seeds swallowed whole or steeped in water cause no problem.
Eaten as a dessert the calories rise markedly; the syrup becomes the main source.
How is it stored?
Quince is among the longest keeping winter fruits.
It lasts two to three months somewhere cool and dark.
Longer still in a fridge: up to three months.
The fruits should not touch; decay in one spreads rapidly.
Wrapping them in paper is a good method.
Quince produces ethylene gas, which accelerates the ripening of fruit beside it.
It should not be stored with apples and pears.
It can be frozen.
Peeled and sliced quince is dipped in lemon juice before freezing, which prevents browning.
It keeps six months.
Thawed quince loses texture and is used only for cooking.
A cooked quince dessert keeps a week in the fridge, in a covered container with its syrup.
Jam and marmalade keep a year in a sealed jar and a month in the fridge once opened.
