Homemade Membrillo

Last year our friend Susan shared her membrillo-making experience and an article containing a recipe with me. It looked like a very easy no fuss recipe. From the accompanying article, it was clear that membrillo was made in many places in the world but often known by different names. The Afrikaans name is "Kweperkaas", I suppose a direct translation from the English name, Quince cheese.

I was curious to discover the membrillo history in South Africa. I could not find a historical Cape recipe for quince paste or membrillo or in fact kweperkaas. But there were several for quince jelly and jam.

Membrillo originates from the Iberian peninsula. It is popular during the Christmas holidays in that region. With the last of the quince harvest in early May, I decided to make quince cheese or dulce de membrillo, as it is known in Spanish, or marmalada in Portuguese.

It seems that quinces were also popular in the Netherlands. It is recorded that Maria van Riebeeck, the wife of the Commander of the Cape of Good Hope, Jan van Riebeeck (1652 - 1662), sent her mother quince jam and preserved quince from the Cape. (Ref: Briewe van Johanna Maria van Riebeeck en ander Riebeeckiana. Edited by D.B. Bosman and translated by Anne Good. Amsterdam, 1952. p103)

In the "De verstandige kock (1668)", a Dutch cookbook, appears a recipe for making red marmalade with quince (Om roode Marmalade van Quee-peeren te maken). This recipe for making the red quince paste, must have been known to chefs and cooks at the Cape, but somehow I could not find a local recipe book containing any reference to quince paste. 

Recipe for red quince marmalade from the "De verstandige kock,1668"

In 1787 Otto Frederick Mentzel published "A geographical-topographical description of the Cape of Good Hope, Part III", in which he described his experiences at the Cape of Good Hope from 1732 to 1741. On page 188 he writes the following about the use of quince at the Cape during that time.

"Quinces so big that they weigh more than a Dutch pound are common, but are, as stated, little used. In the City some women make a comfit of it which they call "marmelade" which is also known in Germany. I know of no other use to which the quinces are put except for this comfit and a so-called Miserere, that is (a dish of) herring in olive oil and vinegar together with bits of quince and apple cut very small." Mentzel describes it as jam, "comfit", although the women called it "marmelade".

The quince pulp and sugar cooking into a paste

Lots of membrillo recipes on the internet add rosewater or vanilla pod to the pulp. I decided to follow the basic recipe that Susan had shared with me, but I added the core and peels to the initial cooking process for a more intense quince flavour. 

I made the membrillo as follows,

Ingredients:

2 Kg quince pieces

Sugar equal to the quantity of quince pulp

1 lemon

Method:

1. Peel and core the quinces. There should be about 2 Kg of clean quince pieces. Place quince pieces in a large pot and cover with water.

2. Squeeze the lemon and keep the juice one side. Chop up the squeezed lemon and place it in a muslin bag with some of the quince peels and cores. Place the muslin bag with its contents in the pot with the quince pieces and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook until the quince pieces are tender (30-40 minutes).

3. Strain the water from the quince pieces. Discard the contents of the muslin bag. Purée the quince pieces with a food blender.

4. Measure the quince purée and measure off the same amount of sugar. (4 cups of purée will equal 4 cups of sugar etc.)

5. Return the quince purée to the pot and heat it on medium-low. Add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the lemon juice.

6. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the quince paste is very thick and has a deep red-pink colour. (About 1 to 1½ hours)

7. Pour the cooked quince paste into a parchment paper-lined baking pan. Smooth out the top of the paste so that it is even. Leave to cool, then chill overnight until it is very firm.

The membrillo cooling down

Membrillo is delicious when served with cheese. It is especially good with Manchego cheese, a Spanish sheep's cheese. We also tried it with a Portuguese sheep’s milk cheese. I found that the cheeses from the Iberian Peninsula best complemented the Membrillo. Perhaps because these products originate from the same region.

Using 2Kg of quince to make the membrillo, left us with enough of this sweet treat to see us through winter until the next quince harvest. Although historically membrillo does not appear to have found a home in the Cape of Good Hope, it is never too late to add this delight to our Towerwater culinary experience.