Markus’s Homemade Membrillo

Markus's Homemade Membrillo

Author: Liz Bokisch

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Our Membrillo which we call Codonyat in Catalan is a delicious accompaniment to cheeses and to add to your charcuterie board. We have a Quince tree at home and Markus always makes a few batches to have at home and give away as gifts for the holidays!

Ingredients

Quince, 3-4
Sugar
1 Lemon

Instructions

Wash the fuzz off of the quince skins.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the whole quince into the water for a couple of minutes to make the peeling easier. Peel the quince with a knife or potato peeler.
Quarter the quince and core the seeds like an apple and cut into half inch cubes.
Weigh or measure by cup the amount of quince to determine the amount of sugar.
The ratio is 80 percent sugar per unit. For every pound (16 oz) of quince add 12.8 ounces of sugar. If you are measuring by cup, use ¾ cup of sugar for 1 cup of quince.
Add the quince, lemon juice and sugar into a heavy pot.
Stir to mix and cook over low heat, stirring every 5 minutes. Allow the sugar to melt and mix with the juice of the quince. Continue to stir occasionally until the quince can be easily pierced with a fork.
Use a Thermomix or Cuisinart to emulsify to your preference. You can keep it course or smooth.
Once emulsified continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn on the bottom until it is thick and you can stand a wooden spoon upright.
Pour into glass molds, you can use tupperware or mason jars. It is best to keep it no thicker than 1 inch so you can easily cut into it.
Keep refrigerated. The sugar and acidity will act as preservatives and it can be kept up to 1 year.

You can see that a quince is very similar to an apple. But you need to cook it before you can eat it!

It’s amazing the amount of sugar you need. But the quince itself has natural pectin so none is needed for it to firm up. The fruit will start to turn in a nice golden color as it cooks.