Quince farming
I’m not sure how many varieties of quinces there are but I know there are shitloads. This recipe is about trying to use things during a glut, like making passata when you have excess tomatoes.
One technique for cooking quinces is to do it slowly with a lot of sugar. I prefer to heighten the sourness inherent in the quince, and to preserve them with spices.
This recipe treats quince as a savoury item, almost as a vegetable. I like to use a variety called “Orange”. They are more compact and don’t go floury, as some quinces do.
Quinces are probably more open than any other fruit to blemishes. They get fleck and mould and insect attack. I remember speaking to an old CSIRO guy who had heaps of quince varieties on his property. I asked him what he sprayed them with. He said, “Just the standard stuff.” I asked if he meant chemicals and he said, “Well, everything is a chemical.” It was as minimal as possible.
When buying quinces, a few imperfections are a good sign that the fruit has experienced fewer chemicals and industrialised processes. Quinces, like apples, because of their varieties, have a fairly long season. By the time you work from the top of Victoria down to the foot of Tasmania, and through all the varieties, you should have almost three months of fresh fruit.
Once you have the quinces pickled, you have a readymade salad. I like to serve these with hardier greens. In this recipe I’ve used cime di rapa. Rocket could work – or anything peppery and mustardy that can hold its own. Mayonnaise-based things such as fennel or celeriac remoulade would also work.
If you don’t feel like a salad, this quince makes a great condiment. Almost treat it like mint sauce. Or it
• could be served simply with cheese.