From tree to table - Quinces

By Renan Yildirim

For the people of Anatolia nature is at the heart of life, featuring
in songs, poems and expressions. For example, to say `There are
quinces in the air,' means that winter is likely to be long and cold.

The quince is a fruit that has been associated not only with harsh
winters, but with love and passion, and sometimes sorrow and
separation. It is often mentioned in connection with the pomegranate
in poems, songs and ballads, such as this poem by Orhan Veli: `From
Istanbul come quinces and pomegranates / Then I turned and saw a
handsome young man coming.' In the rhyming repartee of Cankiri they
say, `This quince will split / My lover resents it / His love for you
/ Will split in two.' And Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu in his poem `Black
Mulberry' says, `You are my laughing quince, my weeping pomegranate.'

The quince is a fruit that has been known to human beings since
antiquity and has been put to many uses. The Romans used both the
fruit and flowers in perfume manufacture, for example, and invested
the tree and its fruit with symbolic meanings like faithfulness and
love. Perhaps this was why Solon recommended that young girls eat
quinces on the eve of their marriage. The quince is a member of the
Rosa family and a close relative of apples and pears. Its Latin name
is Cydonia oblonga or Cydonia vulgaris, a name deriving from the town
of Cydonia on Crete, but the wild fruit is thought to have originated
in Anatolia, Greece or the Crimea.

The most common varieties of quince in Turkey are the bardak, demir,
ekmek, limon and esme. The bardak quince is most widely cultivated in
the province of Kocaeli, and characterised by a downy peel, crisp
juicy flesh and tangy flavour. These quinces are harvested in late
September, tied in bunches, and stored in cellars for the winter. The
demir (`iron') quince that ripens in October is aptly named on account
of its hard dense texture. The ekmek or `bread' quince that is
gathered in September is a good keeper and preferred by many people
because it does not have the astringent flavour of many quinces. The
`lemon' quince is another popular variety so called because of its
bright yellow skin, and the esme is an eating variety widely
cultivated in the Marmara region which keeps well until the end of
March.

Quinces are widely used in Turkish cuisine. In many places they are
simply roasted whole over a charcoal fire and then split open and
eaten with a spoon. Quince pudding with clotted cream is a favourite
winter dessert, and many other types of sweet puddings and preserves
are made of this fruit. Quinces are also an ingredient of various
savoury dishes, such as rice or bulgur pilaf, kebabs, meat stews, and
salads, and they can be stuffed and cooked in various ways as a
vegetable. The recipes given here are but a tiny selection, but I hope
they illustrate the versatility of this venerable fruit.

Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 medium quinces
250 g medium fat minced meat
1 tbsp butter
1 lemon juice
1 large onion
1 heaped tbsp rice
3 tbsp pekmez (grape molasses)
1/2 tablespoon dried coriander
salt

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

By Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

From tree to table - Quinces

QUINCE PUDDING WITH CLOTTED CREAM
(serves 8)

Ingredients:

4 large quinces
4 cups sour cherry juice
1 cup sugar
8 cloves
1 tbsp logusa sekeri (a spiced crystallised tablet used for making
sherbet and sold by Turkish confectioners)
1 tbsp starch
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp clotted cream or whipped cream
ground pistachio nuts

Method:
Peel the quinces and cut in two lengthways. Remove the core carefully
without breaking the flesh and arrange in a large shallow pan.

Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and cloves over. Melt the logusa sekeri
in hot water, mix with the sour cherry juice and pour over the
quinces. Cover and cook over a low heat, turning occasionally. When
tender set aside to cool. Blend some of the juice with the starch, mix
with the rest of the juice in another saucepan, and stir over a gentle
heat until the mixture thickens. When cool spoon some of this mixture
into the centre of each half quince, and place a spoonful of clotted
cream or whipped cream over. Sprinkle with ground pistachio nuts and
serve.

QUINCE SHERBERT
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 quinces
500 g sugar
3 cloves

Method:
Peel the quinces, cut out the cores and dice. Keep some of the pips
and peel. Bring 5 cups of water to the boil, add the sugar and simmer
for about ten minutes. Add the cloves, quince peel, pips and diced
flesh and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool, without
removing the saucepan lid. Strain and chill the sherbert before
serving.

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

Thanks for posting this. (I'm about to buy a quince tree.)
Unfortunately the ingredient list for the last recipe was omitted.

Regards, Dianna


On 28 Mar 2004 13:05:00 -0800, (T.R.H.) wrote:

From tree to table - Quinces

By Renan Yildirim

For the people of Anatolia nature is at the heart of life, featuring
in songs, poems and expressions. For example, to say `There are
quinces in the air,' means that winter is likely to be long and cold.

The quince is a fruit that has been associated not only with harsh
winters, but with love and passion, and sometimes sorrow and
separation. It is often mentioned in connection with the pomegranate
in poems, songs and ballads, such as this poem by Orhan Veli: `From
Istanbul come quinces and pomegranates / Then I turned and saw a
handsome young man coming.' In the rhyming repartee of Cankiri they
say, `This quince will split / My lover resents it / His love for you
/ Will split in two.' And Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu in his poem `Black
Mulberry' says, `You are my laughing quince, my weeping pomegranate.'

The quince is a fruit that has been known to human beings since
antiquity and has been put to many uses. The Romans used both the
fruit and flowers in perfume manufacture, for example, and invested
the tree and its fruit with symbolic meanings like faithfulness and
love. Perhaps this was why Solon recommended that young girls eat
quinces on the eve of their marriage. The quince is a member of the
Rosa family and a close relative of apples and pears. Its Latin name
is Cydonia oblonga or Cydonia vulgaris, a name deriving from the town
of Cydonia on Crete, but the wild fruit is thought to have originated
in Anatolia, Greece or the Crimea.

The most common varieties of quince in Turkey are the bardak, demir,
ekmek, limon and esme. The bardak quince is most widely cultivated in
the province of Kocaeli, and characterised by a downy peel, crisp
juicy flesh and tangy flavour. These quinces are harvested in late
September, tied in bunches, and stored in cellars for the winter. The
demir (`iron') quince that ripens in October is aptly named on account
of its hard dense texture. The ekmek or `bread' quince that is
gathered in September is a good keeper and preferred by many people
because it does not have the astringent flavour of many quinces. The
`lemon' quince is another popular variety so called because of its
bright yellow skin, and the esme is an eating variety widely
cultivated in the Marmara region which keeps well until the end of
March.

Quinces are widely used in Turkish cuisine. In many places they are
simply roasted whole over a charcoal fire and then split open and
eaten with a spoon. Quince pudding with clotted cream is a favourite
winter dessert, and many other types of sweet puddings and preserves
are made of this fruit. Quinces are also an ingredient of various
savoury dishes, such as rice or bulgur pilaf, kebabs, meat stews, and
salads, and they can be stuffed and cooked in various ways as a
vegetable. The recipes given here are but a tiny selection, but I hope
they illustrate the versatility of this venerable fruit.

Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 medium quinces
250 g medium fat minced meat
1 tbsp butter
1 lemon juice
1 large onion
1 heaped tbsp rice
3 tbsp pekmez (grape molasses)
1/2 tablespoon dried coriander
salt

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

By Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

From tree to table - Quinces

QUINCE PUDDING WITH CLOTTED CREAM
(serves 8)

Ingredients:

4 large quinces
4 cups sour cherry juice
1 cup sugar
8 cloves
1 tbsp logusa sekeri (a spiced crystallised tablet used for making
sherbet and sold by Turkish confectioners)
1 tbsp starch
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp clotted cream or whipped cream
ground pistachio nuts

Method:
Peel the quinces and cut in two lengthways. Remove the core carefully
without breaking the flesh and arrange in a large shallow pan.

Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and cloves over. Melt the logusa sekeri
in hot water, mix with the sour cherry juice and pour over the
quinces. Cover and cook over a low heat, turning occasionally. When
tender set aside to cool. Blend some of the juice with the starch, mix
with the rest of the juice in another saucepan, and stir over a gentle
heat until the mixture thickens. When cool spoon some of this mixture
into the centre of each half quince, and place a spoonful of clotted
cream or whipped cream over. Sprinkle with ground pistachio nuts and
serve.

QUINCE SHERBERT
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 quinces
500 g sugar
3 cloves

Method:
Peel the quinces, cut out the cores and dice. Keep some of the pips
and peel. Bring 5 cups of water to the boil, add the sugar and simmer
for about ten minutes. Add the cloves, quince peel, pips and diced
flesh and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool, without
removing the saucepan lid. Strain and chill the sherbert before
serving.

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

_______________________________________________
To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address.

Dianna Visek wrote in message . ..
Thanks for posting this. (I'm about to buy a quince tree.)
Unfortunately the ingredient list for the last recipe was omitted.

Regards, Dianna



Hello Dianna:

That paragraph is a repeat of "STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ" recipe. It
should not have been there.

Regards,

Ahmet Toprak
TRH
http://www.turkradio.us



On 28 Mar 2004 13:05:00 -0800, (T.R.H.) wrote:

From tree to table - Quinces

By Renan Yildirim

For the people of Anatolia nature is at the heart of life, featuring
in songs, poems and expressions. For example, to say `There are
quinces in the air,' means that winter is likely to be long and cold.

The quince is a fruit that has been associated not only with harsh
winters, but with love and passion, and sometimes sorrow and
separation. It is often mentioned in connection with the pomegranate
in poems, songs and ballads, such as this poem by Orhan Veli: `From
Istanbul come quinces and pomegranates / Then I turned and saw a
handsome young man coming.' In the rhyming repartee of Cankiri they
say, `This quince will split / My lover resents it / His love for you
/ Will split in two.' And Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu in his poem `Black
Mulberry' says, `You are my laughing quince, my weeping pomegranate.'

The quince is a fruit that has been known to human beings since
antiquity and has been put to many uses. The Romans used both the
fruit and flowers in perfume manufacture, for example, and invested
the tree and its fruit with symbolic meanings like faithfulness and
love. Perhaps this was why Solon recommended that young girls eat
quinces on the eve of their marriage. The quince is a member of the
Rosa family and a close relative of apples and pears. Its Latin name
is Cydonia oblonga or Cydonia vulgaris, a name deriving from the town
of Cydonia on Crete, but the wild fruit is thought to have originated
in Anatolia, Greece or the Crimea.

The most common varieties of quince in Turkey are the bardak, demir,
ekmek, limon and esme. The bardak quince is most widely cultivated in
the province of Kocaeli, and characterised by a downy peel, crisp
juicy flesh and tangy flavour. These quinces are harvested in late
September, tied in bunches, and stored in cellars for the winter. The
demir (`iron') quince that ripens in October is aptly named on account
of its hard dense texture. The ekmek or `bread' quince that is
gathered in September is a good keeper and preferred by many people
because it does not have the astringent flavour of many quinces. The
`lemon' quince is another popular variety so called because of its
bright yellow skin, and the esme is an eating variety widely
cultivated in the Marmara region which keeps well until the end of
March.

Quinces are widely used in Turkish cuisine. In many places they are
simply roasted whole over a charcoal fire and then split open and
eaten with a spoon. Quince pudding with clotted cream is a favourite
winter dessert, and many other types of sweet puddings and preserves
are made of this fruit. Quinces are also an ingredient of various
savoury dishes, such as rice or bulgur pilaf, kebabs, meat stews, and
salads, and they can be stuffed and cooked in various ways as a
vegetable. The recipes given here are but a tiny selection, but I hope
they illustrate the versatility of this venerable fruit.

Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 medium quinces
250 g medium fat minced meat
1 tbsp butter
1 lemon juice
1 large onion
1 heaped tbsp rice
3 tbsp pekmez (grape molasses)
1/2 tablespoon dried coriander
salt

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

By Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

From tree to table - Quinces

QUINCE PUDDING WITH CLOTTED CREAM
(serves 8)

Ingredients:

4 large quinces
4 cups sour cherry juice
1 cup sugar
8 cloves
1 tbsp logusa sekeri (a spiced crystallised tablet used for making
sherbet and sold by Turkish confectioners)
1 tbsp starch
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp clotted cream or whipped cream
ground pistachio nuts

Method:
Peel the quinces and cut in two lengthways. Remove the core carefully
without breaking the flesh and arrange in a large shallow pan.

Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and cloves over. Melt the logusa sekeri
in hot water, mix with the sour cherry juice and pour over the
quinces. Cover and cook over a low heat, turning occasionally. When
tender set aside to cool. Blend some of the juice with the starch, mix
with the rest of the juice in another saucepan, and stir over a gentle
heat until the mixture thickens. When cool spoon some of this mixture
into the centre of each half quince, and place a spoonful of clotted
cream or whipped cream over. Sprinkle with ground pistachio nuts and
serve.

QUINCE SHERBERT
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 quinces
500 g sugar
3 cloves

Method:
Peel the quinces, cut out the cores and dice. Keep some of the pips
and peel. Bring 5 cups of water to the boil, add the sugar and simmer
for about ten minutes. Add the cloves, quince peel, pips and diced
flesh and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool, without
removing the saucepan lid. Strain and chill the sherbert before
serving.

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

_______________________________________________
To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address.

Dianna Visek wrote in message . ..
Thanks for posting this. (I'm about to buy a quince tree.)
Unfortunately the ingredient list for the last recipe was omitted.

Regards, Dianna



Hello Dianna:

That paragraph is a repeat of "STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ" recipe. It
should not have been there.

Regards,

Ahmet Toprak
TRH
http://www.turkradio.us



On 28 Mar 2004 13:05:00 -0800, (T.R.H.) wrote:

From tree to table - Quinces

By Renan Yildirim

For the people of Anatolia nature is at the heart of life, featuring
in songs, poems and expressions. For example, to say `There are
quinces in the air,' means that winter is likely to be long and cold.

The quince is a fruit that has been associated not only with harsh
winters, but with love and passion, and sometimes sorrow and
separation. It is often mentioned in connection with the pomegranate
in poems, songs and ballads, such as this poem by Orhan Veli: `From
Istanbul come quinces and pomegranates / Then I turned and saw a
handsome young man coming.' In the rhyming repartee of Cankiri they
say, `This quince will split / My lover resents it / His love for you
/ Will split in two.' And Bedri Rahmi Eyuboglu in his poem `Black
Mulberry' says, `You are my laughing quince, my weeping pomegranate.'

The quince is a fruit that has been known to human beings since
antiquity and has been put to many uses. The Romans used both the
fruit and flowers in perfume manufacture, for example, and invested
the tree and its fruit with symbolic meanings like faithfulness and
love. Perhaps this was why Solon recommended that young girls eat
quinces on the eve of their marriage. The quince is a member of the
Rosa family and a close relative of apples and pears. Its Latin name
is Cydonia oblonga or Cydonia vulgaris, a name deriving from the town
of Cydonia on Crete, but the wild fruit is thought to have originated
in Anatolia, Greece or the Crimea.

The most common varieties of quince in Turkey are the bardak, demir,
ekmek, limon and esme. The bardak quince is most widely cultivated in
the province of Kocaeli, and characterised by a downy peel, crisp
juicy flesh and tangy flavour. These quinces are harvested in late
September, tied in bunches, and stored in cellars for the winter. The
demir (`iron') quince that ripens in October is aptly named on account
of its hard dense texture. The ekmek or `bread' quince that is
gathered in September is a good keeper and preferred by many people
because it does not have the astringent flavour of many quinces. The
`lemon' quince is another popular variety so called because of its
bright yellow skin, and the esme is an eating variety widely
cultivated in the Marmara region which keeps well until the end of
March.

Quinces are widely used in Turkish cuisine. In many places they are
simply roasted whole over a charcoal fire and then split open and
eaten with a spoon. Quince pudding with clotted cream is a favourite
winter dessert, and many other types of sweet puddings and preserves
are made of this fruit. Quinces are also an ingredient of various
savoury dishes, such as rice or bulgur pilaf, kebabs, meat stews, and
salads, and they can be stuffed and cooked in various ways as a
vegetable. The recipes given here are but a tiny selection, but I hope
they illustrate the versatility of this venerable fruit.

Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

STUFFED QUINCES WITH PEKMEZ
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 medium quinces
250 g medium fat minced meat
1 tbsp butter
1 lemon juice
1 large onion
1 heaped tbsp rice
3 tbsp pekmez (grape molasses)
1/2 tablespoon dried coriander
salt

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

By Renan Yildirim is a journalist.

From tree to table - Quinces

QUINCE PUDDING WITH CLOTTED CREAM
(serves 8)

Ingredients:

4 large quinces
4 cups sour cherry juice
1 cup sugar
8 cloves
1 tbsp logusa sekeri (a spiced crystallised tablet used for making
sherbet and sold by Turkish confectioners)
1 tbsp starch
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp clotted cream or whipped cream
ground pistachio nuts

Method:
Peel the quinces and cut in two lengthways. Remove the core carefully
without breaking the flesh and arrange in a large shallow pan.

Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and cloves over. Melt the logusa sekeri
in hot water, mix with the sour cherry juice and pour over the
quinces. Cover and cook over a low heat, turning occasionally. When
tender set aside to cool. Blend some of the juice with the starch, mix
with the rest of the juice in another saucepan, and stir over a gentle
heat until the mixture thickens. When cool spoon some of this mixture
into the centre of each half quince, and place a spoonful of clotted
cream or whipped cream over. Sprinkle with ground pistachio nuts and
serve.

QUINCE SHERBERT
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 quinces
500 g sugar
3 cloves

Method:
Peel the quinces, cut out the cores and dice. Keep some of the pips
and peel. Bring 5 cups of water to the boil, add the sugar and simmer
for about ten minutes. Add the cloves, quince peel, pips and diced
flesh and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool, without
removing the saucepan lid. Strain and chill the sherbert before
serving.

Method:
Wash the quinces, cut a cap off the top and remove the core and some
of the flesh. Cut a thin slice off the bottom so that they stand up,
and place in a bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice. Boil the rice
until half cooked, rinse and drain. Dice the onion and fry in half the
butter with the minced meat. Stir in the rice, coriander and salt, and
stuff the quinces with this mixture. Arrange in a saucepan and add 1
cup of hot water. Put a small knob of butter on top of each quince,
cover and cook over a low heat until the quinces are tender. Add the
pekmez and cook for five more minutes. Serve hot.

_______________________________________________
To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address.