At this time of year we inevitably develop eyes that are much, much bigger than our bellies, and that’s simply because there is so much good produce. It’s autumn here and with the season comes the new season of late fruits such as apples and pears. There are also more pumpkins, butternuts, and any other kind of squash or gourd that you care to mention. They are classics for roasting or for soups in our house.
Abundant as this time are also the mushrooms. As one of my very favourite foods this makes me very happy. We have had a meal based around chanterelles (girolles) 3 times already in the past month.
This week it is the quinces that have been receiving star treatment. Until today they had been roasted with a spiced syrup and served with yoghurt, and cooked into a smooth fruit compote. Today was our first experiment at quince pickle. While we won’t know for a few weeks at least whether the pickle is any good, the process was a good learning experience and the picking liquid tasted wonderful by the time at had been boiled down to a spiced-vinegar syrup.
What I learnt was that if you poach the quinces in water before cooking them in the preserving liquid, they are too soft and fall apart. So, don’t do that. If they are peeled, cut into chunks of about 2 cm (cut the quince into 8 lengths then each of those in half), then poached in the vinegar syrup for about 15-20 minutes, the texture seems just right. Diana Henry has a recipe online that is an approximation to what I did.
Photos and tasting notes to follow.
Richard