Easy poached quince with spices

This simple poached quince dish is delicious! You can poach the pears and then use them in a dessert or for breakfast. I absolutely love quince. And while you’re cooking them the smell that will fill the house is just plain wonderful. Makes you feel like Christmas right away!

Poached quince with spices

If you think about it; the quince is really not the prettiest fruit. Depending on what type of variety you’ve got. Could this be the reason they are not overly popular here in the Netherlands? They’re also a bit challenging to handle as they are literally rock hard. A raw quince is inedible so you need to handle it to make it super delicious. So yes, give it some time and this quince recipe will make you happy!

The quince is related to the rose. And when you know how delicious this fruit smells, the family connection suddenly makes a lot more sense. The scientific name of the quince is Cydonia oblonga and it is native to the Caspian Sea region. It seems that the fruit is making a comeback here in the Netherlands, but of course it is nowhere to be found near me.

I even had to get the best quinces in Germany and France (but that was more because I happened to be there and bumped into them) and in the Netherlands they seem to be available in some markets and often in Turkish or Moroccan shops.

​What goes into the poached quince recipe

For making this simple poached quince recipe you need obviously quince. And in addition you need the following ingredients:

• ​cinnamon stick
• star anise
• poaching liquid – I used orange juice as I find that really inhances the flavor of the final dish
• cardamom pods
• sugar – I used regular white sugar but you can use brown sugar as well

Now the hard part is actually peeling and slicing the quince. They’re notoriously difficult to peel and also discolor so rapidly it just happens in the blink of an eye. So while you can add lemon juice to prevent that happening I wouldn’t really bother as they will color anyway while cooking. Peeling is easiest with a vegetable peeler. They have a pretty irregular shape making peeling a bit harder than with a smooth apple for instance.

Cooking the quince

For cooking this fragrant fruit you place the sliced quince in a large pot and add the orange juice. You can also use cold water but I prefer using the orange as it ads flavor. Add the sugar and place the pot on medium heat. Bring to the boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. 

Now set the heat to a low simmer and let it bubble away. Quince take a relatively long time to cook compared to regular poached fruit. But once you have the cooked quince they can be used in so many different delicious ways. Replace them with apple in an apple pie for instance or add to a cake.

Cooking them even longer will give you a wonderful quince jam.

They actually are also perfect to prepare in a pressure cooker or slow cooker.

Not so readily available

Depending on where you live or if you have your own quince tree in the garden, they might not be so easy to find. Here in the Netherlands you can usually find them in a Turkish supermarket but not in a regular store. Farmers markets would be a good bet as well. The season for quince runs roughly from late september through to december but depends on where you live. 

Rock hard

The quince should not be eaten raw, although it is related to the apple and pear. Once you have cut open a quince, you will understand why it cannot be eaten raw. The fruit is rock-hard. It’s not pleasant to eat and hard to chew. But it’s not poisonous so you could try it if you wanted to. But I would suggest to cook them first! Much better!

Questions asked about quince

5 from 4 votes

Poached quince with spices

Prep time 15 minutes mins

Cooking time 45 minutes mins

Total time 1 hour hr

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Servings6 people

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 pieces quince
• ▢ 4-6 cups orange juice
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 1 pcs cinnamon stick
• ▢ 4 pcs orange peel strips
• ▢ 4 pcs lemon peel
• ▢ 6 pcs green cardamom pods crushed
• ▢ 3 pcs star anise

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How to cook poached quince

1. Peel, quarter and core the quince. Be careful as they are very difficult to cut so make sure you don't cut yourself. You can keep them in water as they do discolor very quickly but it doesn't help much. They will discolor while cooking anyway. Best to peel them and add to the orange juice right away.
2. Place the quince together with the orange juice in a large pot. Add the sugar, lemon and orange peel, star anise, cinnamon sticks and cardamom. Bring to the boil and let the sugar dissolve.
3. Now turn the heat down and let it simmer for around 45 minutes or until they are tender enough for a knife to sink in easily.
4. Remove the spices and store in the fridge for up to a week.

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Author recipeAuthor: Simone

Nutrition Information per portion:

Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.05g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 355mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 80g | Vitamin A: 336IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer:

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

Categories:

• Breakfast
• Dessert
• Fall
• Gluten free
• Vegan