Quince Compote

By Martha Rose Shulman

Quince Compote
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
one hour
Rating
4(108)
Comments
Read comments

Quince is a fruit that grows abundantly throughout the Mediterranean. Though it’s too hard and tart to bite into, it has a wonderful perfume. I like to combine it with apples in this simple compote.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves four
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1pound quince
  • 1pound apples
  • ⅓cup agave syrup
  • ½cup water
  • ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1vanilla bean, split and scraped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

188 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 8 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a large bowl with water, and add the juice of ½ lemon. Quarter the quinces and apples, and place the pieces you aren’t working with in the water while you peel, core and cut each quarter crosswise into 1 inch-thick pieces.

  2. Step 2

    Combine the agave syrup and water in a large, heavy saucepan, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer. Drain the quinces and apples, and add to the pot with the cinnamon and vanilla. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, for one hour. The quince will be soft and pinkish, and the apples may have broken down into apple sauce (depending on what type you use). Serve hot or cold.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: This compote will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
108 user ratings
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Comments

Alan

This is so scrummy!! Love it Hard part is peeling and coring the quince. I found a great hack. Put the quince in a 350F oven until skin slightly bronzes. (About 20 minutes) When it’s cool enough to handle it will peel and core easily

Jane B

I have never peeled quince. I cook it into a chunky sauce with lemon juice, cinnamon & pears or apples. All the peels cook mostly away. Or cook juicy pears separately & add the sweet juice to the quince. No need for agave etc when you have sweet pears or apples. Don’t hide the quince flavor behind multiple aromatics. Freezes wonderfully. For dessert, add chunks of raw sweet apples or pears to a blended quince sauce.

Barbara

This compote is delicious. I upped it by 5x for the amount of quince and apples on hand (made 7 pints). I saved prep time by not peeling the fruit and just ran the cooked compote through a food mill before canning. The ground up peel adds flavor and nutrition, but isn't noticeable in the compote. I'm not a big cinnamon fan, so I cut the cinnamon back and added nutmeg and ground cloves. I used a mix of agave syrup and white sugar for the volume of compote I made. Definitely a keeper.

janisani

very nice. I cooked the quince till almost done before adding the apples. the apples became tender but kept their shape. this looked very pretty. oh, also I added a little cardamom.

Alicia S

Delicious. I added a few pecans and raisins and a dollop of yogurt.

Namejane

I had this for breakfast the other day, mixed into plain greek yoghurt - very good.

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