Last Updated on June 20, 2020 by Chef Mireille
Quince Paste – Membrillo
Quince Paste, known as Membrillo in Spanish is commonly eaten in Latin America and Mediterranean countries with bread and cheese.
Easy Membrillo ~ Homemade Quince Paste Recipe can be made at home – it’s a lot easier than you think!
All you need is a few quince, a very firm very sour apple that isn’t palatable raw and must be cooked. A few basic staple pantry items and this gourmet item can easily be made at home!
In many Latin countries, it also made with guava, where it is known as pastel de guayaba or Guava Paste or Guava Cheese.
How to serve quince paste?
In France, it is one of the 13 desserts eaten to celebrate Christmas.
In Spain, it is often eaten on crusty bread with Manchego cheese. It is a great marriage of flavors with sweet and salty in one bite.
In addition to it being often included in the South American merienda (tea time), it is often used as a filling for stuffed pastries – either with or without cheese.
So what exactly is quince paste? It is basically the consistency of a very solid jam. It is very high in natural pectin, so it jells quite quickly and easily. It is cooked until all the moisture from the fruit leaves and you have this sweetened intense fruit puree that can be spread onto bread.
Here in the US, quince paste is considered a gourmet product. You usually have to go to gourmet supermarkets and it costs quite a penny! So if you learn how to make it yourself, you will end up saving some pennies for the piggy bank!
It will cost three times as much to purchase it, instead of purchasing the few ingredients needed to make quince paste.
Instead of making it in one large dish, you can also transfer it in 2 small dishes like I did and that way you can give away 1 as an edible gift. This makes a fantastic holiday gift. Just make sure you wrap it well in plastic wrap and it can last for a few months in the refrigerator.
How to make Quince Paste – Membrillo
Quince oxidizes VERY QUICKLY. This is why the lemon is essential.
Homemade Quince Paste? You got this! Who needs a gourmet market when it is so much more budget friendly to make it yourself at home!
Don’t forget to check out these other quince recipes too!
Quince Recipes
Quince Paste – Membrillo
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. quince peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups sugar
Instructions
- Zest the lemon.
- If using fresh vanilla bean, split the vanilla bean.
- In a large pot, place the quince, vanilla bean and lemon zest.
- Add about 1 1/2 cups of water – just enough to cover the quince.
- Simmer on medium low heat for about 20 minutes, until the quince are very soft.
- Most of the water will have evaporated.
- Drain and puree the soft quince with 1/2 cup of water in a food processor.
- Measure the quantity of quince puree.
- Place the puree and equal amounts of sugar back in the pot – about 2 cups.
- Cook on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add juice of the lemon and cook on VERY LOW HEAT, stirring often for 45 minutes, until thickened and rosy color.
- Preheat oven to 200 F..
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
- Transfer the thickened quince to the oven and bake for 2 1/2 hours until most of the moisture is gone and it is quite firm.
- Chill for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
Nutrition
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I also have the issue of name being called differently.. So you are not alone… and this paste is very interesting..
Sowmya
Quince paste sounds like delicious topping for deserts. You have really justified your names meaning…
Actually i thought u r french speaking lady when i came to know you through BM. Can understand prefectly ur situation which is quite often happened for me earlier here. Quince paste sounds a prefect for making a fabulous evening snacks.
quice paste sounds interesting and looks super yummy !! love you pictorials 🙂
I caught on to your name only after our conversation on the phone…till then even I pronounced it wrong:)). The quince paste is new and interesting.
I love the recipe never tasted or heard before but def worth trying.Love it.
Quince paste sounds delicious.
Ok I confess that to avoid sounding different in my own mind, I struck to Mir..:)…though I am supposed to know French, you won't catch me uttering a word of it..LOL..nice reading how that quest led you to discover other things…the pictures are so refreshing..
Would love to know more about you. Your name and everything is so interesting. You get quince in north India but I have not seen it in many places. Your quince paste looks very interesting like our aampapad.
Though I took a French course in college, its all forgotten !So I really didn't know how to call you so ,like Srivalli, found it easy to call you Mir :). Now I guess I know how to address you:).
First of all I love your plate and the quince paste is something new to me.I am still drooling over that last pic:)
wow..looks inviting…nice presentation..
Mireille…if your name gets mispronounced, imagine our names :-)))..Anyway, now I know how your name is pronounced and in my head the last three letters were there till now…
very inviting platter specially the last one!
Very interesting to read about the name issue you have. Even I don't know how to call you and so stuck with Mir. And haven't heard of quince until today. After seeing your post, I googled to find about it. I am learning a lot from your posts Mir…
Love the color of the end product there. And so do we say Miray?
Very intersting to know about your name and I would better stick with Mir:-) and coming back to the recipe….lovely presentation!!
Very interesting and love the way you present.. and texture.
Never heard the name before, Love your pictorial..They are very clear and easy to follow.
I have a been guilty of not pronouncing your name correctly. I suppose that is why I stuck to MIr. Sorry I do not know french.
As fr this quince you have me totally hooked to your pictures.
I have never heard of this. Always learning something new on your blog. Sounds like a fun interesting dessert. Your step by step photo guide definitely help a newbie like me.
Thanks – Hope you’ll try it soon!