Quince - a somewhat peculiar fruit. Is it in fact an overgrown, deformed pear? To me, it resembles the rock slopes it is found on, with its robust shape – not one looking the same- with its grey and brown stains on its slightly furry outer layer. This yellow-green produce is truly the ugly duckling of the apple-family.
In my opinion this might simply be the reason for its numerous uses- because this isn’t really a spectacle fruit we rather transform it. We put it in glass. The natural high acidity in the quince lends itself toward making a quince wine. In its turn the high level of pectin found in it makes it an excellent contender for preserves. The most striking, pink blushed preserve. And that’s the way I’ve come to see beauty in this unattractive yellow-rock-fruit.
Anyone who has ever made a preserve knows that it’s a process of endurance. Love, care and a lot of time is put into that little glass jar. A little bit of yourself is canned in that jam jar. So naturally every culture’s preserve will also look a bit different.
The Lebanese dress up their jelly with a pomegranate paste to be enjoyed with shank and other meat. Portuguese make quince cheese, their Spanish neighbours use the pectin-bomb-jam for terrines and Italians make a mustard like preserve.
For me, my family makes a plain Afrikaans kweper konfyt. Simply a process of cooking the fruit, passing the pulp and waiting for the sweet aroma which calls you for a final taste before it is sterilized in bottles and placed prominently on the highest kitchen shelf to showcase, your now truly beautiful quince.
All said, yes the quince is ugly. But when you know the treasure that it holds, you can see the beauty despite its exterior. A natural gift you can interpret in your own little jar.
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