Havran Quince

Quartered quince baked slowly in honey and vanilla until it turns rosy amber and tender.

Role of the fruit. The dish

Prep 15 min. Cook 2½ to 3 hours at 300°F. Total 2 hr 45 min to 3 hr 15 min.

Ingredients

2 large quinces, scrubbed of fuzz, quartered and cored
½ cup honey
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean, split, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Heat the oven to 300°F.
2. Lay the quince quarters in a baking dish in one layer. Whisk the honey, water and vanilla and pour over; dot with butter.
3. Cover tightly and bake 2½ to 3 hours, turning once, until tender and deep rosy amber. Uncover for the last 20 min to thicken the syrup.
4. Serve warm with yogurt or cream.

Why this cultivar. Very large cultivars such as Havran and Bereczki give thick, meaty quarters. Long, slow cooking turns quince flesh from pale to rosy amber. Pyronia, a quince-pear hybrid recorded as cooked like quince, can be baked the same way; check it sooner.

Storage. Refrigerate in the syrup up to 5 days.

Evidence: D. Culinary application.

Open the full recipe page · Learn the technique: Baking pies, crisps, tarts and breads

Quince quarters simmered slowly in a light honey and lemon syrup until tender and rosy. Serve with yogurt, cream or a firm cheese.

Role of the fruit. The only fruit

Prep 20 min. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hr. Total About 2 to 3 hr.

Ingredients

4 medium quinces (about 2 lb, 900 g)
4 cups water
3/4 cup sugar (150 g)
1/4 cup honey
1 lemon: 2 strips of zest and 2 tbsp juice
1 cinnamon stick, optional

Method

1. Put the water, sugar, honey, lemon zest and juice and cinnamon in a wide saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
2. Rub the fuzz off the quinces. Peel, quarter and core them one at a time, dropping each piece straight into the syrup, since cut quince browns quickly.
3. Lay a round of parchment on the surface to keep the fruit under the syrup. Simmer very gently, barely bubbling, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hr, until a knife slides in easily and the fruit has turned pink to rosy amber.
4. Cool the quinces in their syrup. Serve warm or cold with a spoonful of the syrup.

Why this cultivar. Any of the quinces linked here work. Firm quinces hold their shape through the long, gentle cooking.

Storage. Refrigerate the quinces in their syrup, covered, up to 1 week.

Evidence: D. Culinary application.

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Slow-braised lamb with browned quince wedges, cinnamon and saffron, in the spirit of khoresh-e beh, the Persian quince stew.

Role of the fruit. Face of the dish: 2 quinces to 2 lb lamb

Prep 25 min. Cook About 2 hours. Total About 2 hr 30 min.

Ingredients

2 lb boneless lamb shoulder, in 1½ in cubes
2 tbsp oil
2 onions, sliced
1 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp ground ginger
A large pinch of saffron steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
3 cups stock or water
2 quinces, cored and cut into 8 wedges each, skin on
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
Salt

Method

1. Brown the lamb in the oil in batches. Soften the onions, then add the spices, saffron water, stock and lamb.
2. Cover and simmer about 1½ hours until the lamb is nearly tender.
3. Meanwhile brown the quince wedges in the butter with the honey.
4. Add the quince to the stew for the final 25 to 40 min, until tender but holding shape. Season with salt.

Why this cultivar. Sweeter, softer quinces such as Aromatnaya, Kyzyl Kurganskaya and Ekmek may be ready sooner than hard cooking quinces. Check at 25 min.

History. Khoresh-e beh, stew of meat and quince, is a traditional autumn dish in Iran. This is a Provenance Nursery recipe in that spirit, not a reproduction of a traditional version.

Evidence: B. Documented species tradition. Source 1: foodish.anumuseum.org.il (opens in a new tab)

Open the full recipe page · Learn the technique: Braising and stewing

A recipe from Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife (first published 1824), printed in its original words and adapted step by step for a modern kitchen.

Prep 30 min. Cook 1 hr 45 min. Total 2 hr 45 min (includes cooling).

Ingredients

3 lb ripe quinces, 4 to 5 large (1.4 kg)
Water to cover
Sugar: half the weight of the strained pulp, about 2 1/4 cups (450 g) for 2 lb (900 g) pulp
Cheesecloth and kitchen string for the seed bag

Method

1. Rub the fuzz off the quinces and rinse them. Put them whole in a large saucepan, cover with water and simmer 45 to 75 min, until a skewer passes easily to the core.
2. Lift out the quinces and let them cool enough to handle. Cut them open, pick out the seeds and tie the seeds in a cheesecloth bag.
3. Rub the flesh through a sieve or food mill, leaving skin and core behind. Weigh the pulp.
4. Put the pulp in a wide, heavy saucepan with half its weight in sugar and the seed bag.
5. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon, 30 to 45 min, until it is thick enough that a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clear trail and a spoonful holds its shape on a cold plate. It spatters; wear an oven mitt on the stirring hand.
6. Remove the seed bag. Spoon the marmalade into clean jars or a shallow dish, cool, cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Storage. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks, or freeze up to 1 year.

Safety. Refrigerator or freezer preserve only. It is not processed for shelf storage: keep refrigerated and use within 3 weeks, or freeze up to 1 year.

History. Randolph gives quince marmalade among her preserves in The Virginia House-Wife (first published Washington, 1824), at two pounds of pulp to one of sugar, set with the fruit's own seeds boiled in a muslin bag. Text read from the Project Gutenberg transcription of the 1860 printing.

Evidence: A. Dated published recipe. Adapted from Mary Randolph, The Virginia House-Wife, first published Washington, 1824; text from the 1860 printing.. Source 1: gutenberg.org (opens in a new tab)

Open the full recipe page · Learn the technique: Jams, jellies and fruit preserves · Read the 1824 original