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Quince paste

This traditional French "pâte de fruit" (fruit paste or leather) has a distinctive, firm consistency and is full of flavour, with the characteristic tang of quince.

The preparation is rather long, but the result is well worth all the effort.

44 K 4/5 (5 reviews)

2 hours 3 min. difficulté

Easy

2.15 €

450 g

5 Ingredients

Last modified on: December 3^rd 2017

For 450 g, you will need:

1 1 ¾ cup quince
2 ¼ lemon
3 1 cup granulated sugar
4 1 tablespoon jam sugar
5 ½ orange (optional)

Change these quantities to make:

300 g 450 g 900 g 1 kg 800 g 2 kg 700 g

Change measures:

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Times for this recipe

Preparation: 35 min.

Resting: 1 hour

Cooking: 30 min.

All in all: 2 hours 3 min.

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Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 3 min.

Wash and brush 1 ¾ cup quinces, but do not peel, as the skin add to the flavour.

Stage 2 - 8 min.

Cut the quinces into quarters, then remove and discard the core. Cut each quarter into small pieces.

Put the quince pieces into a saucepan, add ¼ lemon cut into 4 and just enough water to cover.

Note: From 800g of quinces, you should be left with 500 g of cut fruit.

Stage 3 - 20 min.

Put the pan uncovered on medium heat and cook until the fruit is soft enough for the point of a knife to go through it easily.

Stage 4 - 5 min.

After cooking, discard the lemon pieces and pass the quinces through a vegetable mill on "fine" setting.

Do not throw away the cooking liquid.

Stage 5 - 3 min.

Transfer the quince pulp into a saucepan and weigh it (from 500 g cut fruit, you should be left with about 350 g of cooked pulp).

Weigh 30% of this weight in cooking liquid (100 g here), then mix this with the quince pulp.

You can add the zest of ½ orange at this point.

Stage 6 - 3 min.

Weigh 1 cup granulated sugar (this should be the same wieght as the mixture of fruit pulp and cooking liquid).

Take out 50 g of this sugar at mix it separately with the 1 tablespoon jam sugar.

Stage 7 - 4 min.

Put the saucepan on high heat and bring to the boil, then tip in the 50 g of sugar with its gelling agent.

Stage 8 - 3 min.

Mix well, bring back to the boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stage 9 - 1 min.

Add the rest of the sugar all at once.

Stage 10 - 3 min.

Mix well, bring back to the boil and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stage 11 - 1 hour

Pour into a mould or tin, lined with a sheet of cooking parchment.

Leave to cool for at least 1 hour.

Stage 12 - 10 min.

Turn out and cut into pieces about the size of a sugar cube.

Stage 13

You can make the paste look more attractive by rolling the pieces in a little granulated sugar, but this is not essential.

Remarks

This is a very ancient sweetmeat, particularly appreciated at the French court during the Renaissance. It was apparently a favourite of both Marie de' Medici and the Duc de Guise.

Keeping: Several days (weeks, even) in the fridge, covered with plastic film.

Source: From gaston Lenôtre, but dedicated to Isabelle and Patrick who will recognise something of themselves here..

Nutritional information

	Proteins (gr)	Carbohydrates (gr)	Fats (gr)	Energy value (in k-calories)	Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe	3 RDI=1 %	300 RDI=30 %	2 RDI=0 %	1,250 RDI=60 %	5,220 RDI: 60 %
Per 100 g	0	50 RDI=4 %	0	190 RDI=9 %	780 RDI: 9 %

The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man

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