El Membrillo

In Spain it's typically called Dulce de Membrillo. If you travel to the country you can't miss it because it is usually displayed in pastry shop windows everywhere.  They just love it there. It is eaten at breakfast time with bread and also used to garnish other pastries like the famous Panelettes from Catalunia. It is best enjoyed when paired with Manchego cheese for dessert. I was fascinated by how it was made in homes when I lived there for a while. The process was quite simple but required a lot of patience. There were only two ingredients; quince and sugar. Lemon or orange juice was added for tartness according to ones taste. The  Membrillo I got from the shops I found a little too sweet for me. Now, I made one for you I'm sure you will like.

Choose the yellowest quince you can find. They are usually the sweetest and more fragrant. Wash them thoroughly to remove wax on the fruit.

Boil them in water until soft. This might take 30 minutes. Dump all of the boiling water to get rid of any more wax residue. Skin and core the fruit and puree the pulp with the sugar. I measured the puree in cups and it yielded 6. So I added 3 cups of sugar. Add half a cup more if you want it sweeter.

For tartness I put a quarter of a cup of calamundin orange juice. A calamundin orange has a combined taste of lemon and orange. I found them at a farmer's market but you can use lemon if you wish.

I used a cast iron pot to stir puree on medium heat for almost 30 minutes. The membrillo gets its natural color when heated and the sugars start to caramelize. Spoon a little of the paste into a plate to test if it coagulates instantly. Then it is ready to put into molds. I saved the skin and core of the quince to make jelly but that would be for another recipe.