Fruit
Quince
MembrilloCodonyCydonia oblonga
Raw it's hard and harsh, but it smells so good it used to go in wardrobes to scent the clothes. Cooked, it turns pink and sweet.
When
Around: Sept–Nov · At its best: Oct
Around: Sept–Nov · At its best: Oct
Around: Mar–May · At its best: Apr
Around here
In Catalonia the quince is an orchard and field-edge tree, and many households still make quince paste (codonyat) in autumn. In the Pyrenees and Empordà they make quince allioli, with the fruit boiled or roasted, to go with grilled meat.
At the market
- Yellow and very fragrant: that means it's ripe.
- The grey fuzz that rubs off with your finger is normal.
- Avoid heavily bruised ones or soft brown patches: they rot quickly inside.
- If it's a bit green, leave it a few days at home until it turns yellow and smells.
At home
- At room temperature, somewhere cool, it keeps a couple of weeks.
- Keep it away from other fruit: its smell rubs off on them and it gives off ethylene, which ripens them.
- In the fridge, wrapped in paper, one or two months.
If you have too much
- Quince paste: boiled, puréed and back on the heat with its weight in sugar (or a bit less), stirring until it comes away from the pan.
- Jelly: the water from boiling peels and cores has so much pectin it sets on its own with sugar.
- Roasted or in syrup and frozen in pieces, for desserts and stews.
In the kitchen
- Quince paste with cheese: aged, sheep's milk or a fresh mató.
- Quince allioli with grilled meat or botifarra sausage.
- Baked with honey and cinnamon, like a baked apple.
- In lamb or pork stews, in wedges, as in a tagine.
- Poached in red wine with sugar and a strip of orange peel.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 57 kcal
- Water
- 84% water
- Carbs
- 15.3 g
- Fibre
- 1.9 g
- Protein
- 0.4 g
Stands out for
- Source of vitamin C15 mg · 19% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- AppleAug–FebIt's harvested in late summer and autumn, but cold stores keep it on sale all year. In season, freshly picked, it crunches differently.
- PearJul–DecPears ripen from the inside out: by the time the whole skin gives, the middle has gone. Check the neck, not the belly.
- ChestnutOct–DecBefore potatoes, chestnuts were winter bread in many European mountains. Today they mostly mean smoke in the street and hot newspaper cones in your hands.
- PumpkinSept–FebIt's harvested in autumn and, whole, keeps for months without a fridge: it was the vegetable that lasted till February. In Spanish, «giving someone pumpkins» means turning them down.