Quince
(Cydonia oblonga)
"On its own roots, quince is sprawly and gangly and it is a waste of time trying to clip or prune it to your preconceived ideas of beauty. Go with it. Be astonished at the blossom.
Be unreasonably proud of the fruit. Drink in the incredible fragrance with which a single quince can seduce a room and feast on its pomaded sweetness. It will, I promise, brighten your northern sky."
- Monty Don -
Our quince orchard was grown from scratch, in-situ. The rootstocks were planted in winter; various cultivars were budded on the following summer; the rootstocks were then cut back the next spring; and the resultant grafts trained up to form new trees.
Maggie Beer's Roasted Quince
"Maggie tells the story of how and why she developed her love for this unusual fruit and takes us back to the planting of her Quince Orchard. She goes on to prepare a Quince dessert that emerges from the oven as a burnished orange masterpiece." - ABC Television
Peel, core, and cut the quinces into bite-size bits. Reserve trimmings.
Wrap and tie quince trimmings in a piece of muslin. Put water, orange juice and rind, sugar and cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to the boil, then add the muslin bag. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes or until syrupy. Remove and discard muslin bag, reserving the orange rind and cinnamon stick.
Put quince in a shallow baking dish just large enough to fit them all snugly in one layer. Add enough syrup (including reserved orange rind and cinnamon stick) to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the quince, then cover closely with a piece of baking paper cut to fit the inside of the dish.
Roast for 8 hours at 90C (overnight), the quince pieces will become tender and the most beautiful deep ruby colour and the pan juices become syrupy. If not by the next morning simply increase the temperature to 120C and cook until the syrup reduces.
