Out on my afternoon walks over the past week or two, I've noticed at least two quince trees that still have fruit on them, or lying on the ground under them. Nobody is around to pick or gather the quinces — except me, it seems.
A quince is a large, hard, grainy fruit that resembles an overgrown pear but is bright yellow when ripe. In French it's called « un coing » (the G is silent) and the tree is « le cognassier » [koh-nyah-'ssyay]. In our climate, which not hot enough tp allow quinces to get really, really ripe, the fruit needs to be cooked to be edible. It makes good jelly, which turns red as it cooks. Quinces are much more acidic than pears, and more acidic than most apples. They are also rich in pectin.
Cooked quince, like cooked apple or apple sauce, makes a good accompaniment for roasted or grilled pork, lamb, chicken, or duck. In North Africa, people make spicy sweet-and-sour tajines using quince and lamb, for example. Since the quinces I found recently were not numerous (above, you see two out of the four I got this time), I decided that the best way to cook them would be as a side dish to have with meat.
What you do is peel and core the fruits and cut them into slices. Melt some butter in a frying pan and, when it's hot, put the quince slices in. Add about a tablespoon of honey or sugar and let the quince slices cook until they start to brown. Carefully turn them over and brown them on all sides as best you can. If you want to make the same thing with apples, add some lemon juice to perk it up.
The pork product that we decided to have with the quince — a kind of chutney that would be good with spicy sausages — was boudin noir. That's called "black pudding" in England, or blood sausage in other places. In the British Isles, black pudding is served as part of a full breakfast. In France, boudin noir is a lunch, dinner, or barbecue treat. Walt and I both like it. The flavor is not strong or gamy, and the texture is nice. The sausage is made with pork blood, fat, and rind, seasoned with onion and spices. It's sold already cooked, so you just have to heat it up and serve it.
I have quince jam from 2 years ago. It is not popular. you've given me inspiration. I'll use it in a curry (sweet) and Google for some more ideas. Not a fan of quinces but yours look very appetising
ReplyDeleteWe always enjoyed the quince jelly I made. Problem is, we just don't eat much jelly.
DeleteI still have a jar of your quince jelly, it's delicious, 2013 vintage I think.
ReplyDeleteYour quince side dish would be good with pheasant or quail I think. We use a recipe for that which uses apples but if I see some quince I'll try them instead.
It was our neighbor the mayor who first introduced us to the caramelized quince as a side dish with meats. She kept it in the freezer. She gave us a couple of containers and we liked it.
DeleteI'm salivating all over my tablet! I love quince paste and jelly, and boudin noir et blanc of course.
ReplyDeleteYou need to pretend you are British and have black pudding as part of your breakfast.
DeleteThat's a good idea, but I'm afraid I won't find boudin noir here n the States. The only British part of my breakfast is tea.
DeleteYou say that, when the quince is cooked the juice turns red. The same happens with the Granny Smith apples. The apple sauce I make with that kind of apple turns red when fully cooked. Probably the same chemicals.
ReplyDeleteI "rescued" two more quinces this afternoon. They are perfect, and they were just lying there in the grass under the tree. I'm thinking of merguez or chorizette sausages with coings confits au beurre et au miel for lunch in a couple of days.
DeleteI've never tried boudin noir, but have had black sausage in England a few times. Jimmy Dean sage sausage is my favorite and I have a recipe that I like using it for crepes. Sausage crepes and fried quince would be good I think.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you try the boudin noir when we all went to Mortagne-au-Perche five years ago? I know we bought and cooked some. It's a local speciality in the Perche.
DeleteYou said the magic word--Perche!
ReplyDeleteKen, I read you every day but I think I haven't commented in a while. Just thought I'd let you know we're both still reading and enjoying your blog.