The Jewish New Year is celebrated today, and this brings back memories of traditional foods, even to an agnostic such as me. One of the culinary traditions for this event, is to dip a slice of apple in honey, and eat it as a symbol for a sweet New Year. Plenty other sweet dishes are added to the table as well, in order to emphasize this hope for a sweet New Year. Candied quince is one of these dishes in the Sephardic table, and it is so tasty, it is well worth preparing, regardless of any religious practices.
As with last weeks’ celeriac dish, here too the quince is cooked slowly, until the slices soften and change their color from yellow into a beautiful orange-radish, most of the liquids reduced and the sugar and honey caramelizes.
Once again, patience and keeping an eye on the dish is needed, especially in the last stage of cooking: you want the quince to caramelize a bit, but not too much, so that it will still be soft.
Traditionally, the candied quince slices are served on their own, but don’t hesitate to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, nuts or other toppings to it.
Another option is to serve the candied slices with fresh goat cheese, as shown here, or with blue cheese. Either way you’ll serve it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this delicacy. Happy New Year to all!
For more quince recipes – check out THIS and THIS posts.
Makes: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 large quince
2 cups water
Fresh lemon juice, from ½ large lemon
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs honey (preferably orange blossom)
1 small sprig of rosemary
1. Cut the quince into quarters and then cut each quarter into 3 fairly thick slices. With a small sharp knife, carefully remove the seeds and the hard core around them. (Do not peel, or else the slices will not keep their shape while cooking.)
2. Mix the water, lemon juice, sugar and honey in a bowl and stir to dissolve.
3. Place the quince slices in the pot, in one layer, and add the liquid mix. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Uncover the pot and add the rosemary. Lower the heat to medium-low and keep cooking for about 20 minutes. Carefully, turn the slices to their other side. Keep on cooking for another 30 minutes, or until the quince changes color to orange-red and most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Let cool in the pot before carefully transferring to a serving plate.
Mamma mia this looks yummy! And I love the idea of serving it with the goat cheese- you know I’ve seen these fruits in Sicily this year, there was a fruit garden in one of the places we’re staying at. The trees looked beautiful. There is no better way to celebrate the beginning of New Year 😀
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Thank you Marta. It is very yummy indeed! 🙂
And lets hope for a sweet New Year for all. I can’t say that it worked so far, but there’s always hope. 🙂
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Ah tell me about it, I know the feeling, but I guess that’s why we can always start everything from the very beginning. The only thing you need a good reset like your desert 😀
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I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
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Ronit, You are going to have me chasing down quinces yet! I love the idea of goat cheese with this. I thought I didn’t like goat cheese, until one day I tried it with honey, et voilá – a new favorite! It should be perfect with the sweetness of this delightful fruit. In your picture, it looks fluffy. I have never seen it that way. Do you do that to it yourself?
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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I’m sure you’ll enjoy this wonderful fruit, Judie. It’s so versatile and tasty.
I think the “fluffiness” is due to the fact that except for turning the slices once, I hardly touch the slices while cooking, and I let them chill in the pot. This way, all the liquid is “locked” in and the slices are plump and juicy.
I love goat cheeses as is, but I agree that they are at their best with a bit of sweetness, like here. 🙂
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I meant the goat cheese looked fluffy.
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ooops…. 😀
Then I guess it’s just the type I have. It’s fresh goat cheese from Vermont. Really excellent. 🙂
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We have it fat sticks, and it is very solid.
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This one is from “Vermont Creamery”. It is quite crumbly and not overly fat. Very fresh, tangy flavor.
Here’s a link for their site: http://www.vermontcreamery.com/fresh-goat-cheese-1
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Love this Ronit – I must also track down quinces. I love the sound of these candied quinces served with blue cheese – although that chevre looks fantastic.
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Thank you Lindy! 🙂
I hope you’ll find these wonderful fruits and enjoy cooking with them. 🙂
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Love the caramelized color of the quince and it looks delicious. It is also very interesting to learn about the tradition for New Years.
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Thank you Sandhya. I’m glad to hear. 🙂
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That’s one of my favorites!
Can eat at least a dozen of them.
Liked the ice cream idea,
Happy Rosh Hashana from Ganit and Rami.
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Mine too! Grandma’s foods are always the best! 🙂
שנה טובה לכולם!
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They look delicious! I have a far-away friend who has access to a quince tree, but no recipes. How long do you think the candied quince will last? Can they be dried?
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Thank you Kathy! 🙂
I didn’t try drying the candied quince, since I usually prefer to make a smaller batch each time, as they do taste best when freshly made. They can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
For quince sweets that can keep longer, you can check out my recipe for quince squares, though obviously they take longer to prepare.
Good luck! 🙂
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Thanks! I shared both of them with my friend.
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Hope they will be pleased with the results. 🙂
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Me too! I’m too far away to get a sample, though, or attempt it myself (too south).
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Well if they do make the squares, they can be shipped without any problem. I do that a lot. 🙂
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Thank you!
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mmm. . . this looks really good. I’ve got to find some quinces so that I can try this recipe and several others. 🙂
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Thank you Sheryl. 🙂 I hope you’ll be able to find quince and enjoy the results.
Could be nice to have a neighbor with a quince tree, like in the story about your grandmother… 🙂
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I wish! Quince trees are few and far between in suburbia; and when I visit the rural area where I grew up, it seems like all of the old quince trees are now gone.
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What a shame. Quince is really an under appreciated fruit.. 😦
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simple elegant and delicious, never had this but i guess it’s worth to try!!!
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Thank you Dedy! It’s really worth the try… 🙂
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I absolutely love the colour transformation. I am sure it tastes great. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you Liz. It really tastes great! 🙂
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Love it:-) will try soon
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Thank you Vidya. I hope you’ll enjoy the results. 🙂
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looks lovely 🙂 The fragrance must be heavenly.
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Thank you Liz. The fragrance is really amazing, and so is the taste. 🙂
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Happy New Year, Ronit. I do hope you’re able to enjoy a bit of your own family and friends during the holiday….though I’m guessing you’re cooking for others as well. 🙂
This quince sounds wonderful…love your addition of goat cheese! And the color is gorgeous!
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Thank you Nancy. 🙂 You’re right, I’m usually cooking for others,but definitively also find the time to eat… 🙂
I’m always fascinated by these traditional recipes – to see something so tasty comes out from very few basic ingredients, all due to taking the time to cook it right. It’s really an almost lost art nowadays and it feels nice to revive it every once in a while. 🙂
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Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!! Love this recipe!! Apples candied with honey and rosemary sounds like heaven to me!!
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These are quince slices, but it could work just the same with apples. 🙂
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I am sorry Ronit! I didn’t know what quince was, so I used google translator and It translated it as a kind of apple…Now I know, they are mele cotogne! :-)))
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No problem, Serena. It could really work great with apples as well, but no doubt quince is far better than apple for this type of desserts. If you can get it, I highly recommend this wonderful fruit. 🙂
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Thanks Ronit! …Yes, they used to be popular many years ago, but now a days they are quite difficult to find.
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Happy New Year, Ronit! I love quinces, but never tried to make it candied! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Thank you Mila! 🙂
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That looks so yummy, you can just taste the sweetness dripping from it!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Really interesting, I had never thought about candied quince, since I always candy oranges & lemons & ginger but this is a great addition to this years haul. Hopefully there still some around for me.
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Thank you! 🙂
Quince is such a great fruit for cooking, I’m sure you’ll love it once you’ll have it.
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I agree, hard to cut but very tasty. 😉
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Delicious!
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Thank you Karinna – it really is! 🙂
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Healthy!
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