Quince

Quince, Apples, Pluots & Grapes from the Farmer’s Market

As a child, I used to have Quince tree right outside my bedroom window and the sound of those things hitting the roof was not my favorite way to wake up in the morning. It caused me to have a love-hate relationship with the fruit of that particular tree. As a chef, I look forward to the moment it appears at the farmer’s market and often wish I had a tree of them in my current back yard. The look like over-grown misshapen apples with a bitterness that’s hard to describe if mistakenly eaten raw. However cook them…and things change. This fruit takes on a floral tenderness that tastes something like a cooked apple with aroma that’s similar to pears and vanilla. One of my favorite ways to eat Quince is cooked with apples and onions served as a topping for anything in the pork family—pork chops, pork loin or a slow cooked pork shoulder. Alicia, her home country Guatemala, instantly recognised them at “membrillo” the Spanish name and the name given to Quince jelly at fine dining restaurants. Quince is great for jams and jellies because it’s high pectin content. Quince was first planted in California at Spanish missions but cultivation took off in the 19th century. Today, California is the only U.S. state that grows commercial quantities of quince, and there are only about 300 acres, mostly in the San Joaquin Valley. The harvest runs from mid-August to early November, and the fruit, which stores well, is sold through January; small shipments from Chile come in from March to May.