Saturday, November 12, 2011

membrillo

i made my first membrillo last night and tasted it today. i'm on a not very good vegetarian day today because i bought some manchego to go with it. there is not a lot of chance that it is veggie but cheese is usually my downfall. i'm afraid that it all started when i first tasted gruyere, there is something preternatural about alpine cheeses and the rennet question is ignored. that is not to say that restaurants should not be aware. whilst i am happy(ish) to eat these cheeses, i would not serve them to the customers. anyway, if you can get some quince, this recipe will work.

some quince, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks. it's best to peel them because they have a weird fur over them that i would not fancy in my membrillo.

boil in water with the halves of two lemons, juice reserved for later, until they are soft, then drain and blitz in a food processor. measure the volume and then add the same volume of sugar and the reserved lemon juice. i use jam sugar because it has extra pectin.

bring this to a boil and then simmer for about an hour, stirring every now and then. cover the inside of a oven dish with cling film and pour in the quince mix. place into the oven at 120C and dry for an hour or two.

cool and place in the fridge to fully set.

enjoy with manchego, or another cheese.


cheers

wayne