page_title: Quince
section_title: As food
hierarchical_section_title: Quince / Uses / As food
caption_attribution_description: Español: Dulce de membrillo.
context_page_description: The quince is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae. It is a deciduous tree that bears a pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and is bright golden-yellow when mature. The raw fruit is a source of food. The tree has been grown by landscape architects for its attractive pale pink blossoms and other ornamental qualities.
context_section_description: Some varieties of quince, such as 'Aromatnaya' and 'Kuganskaya' do not require cooking and can be eaten raw. However, most varieties of quince are too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw unless "bletted" (softened by frost and subsequent decay).  High in pectin, they are used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed; pectin levels diminish as the fruit ripens. The flesh of the fruit turns red after a long cooking with sugar by formation of anthocyanins. The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavor. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the apple sauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince.  The term "marmalade", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from marmelo, the Portuguese word for this fruit.
  Quince cheese is firm, sticky, sweet reddish hard paste made from the quince fruit, and originating from the Iberian peninsula. It is known as marmelada across the Portuguese-speaking world and as carne de membrillo  or dulce de membrillo across the Spanish-speaking world, where it is used in a variety of recipes, eaten in sandwiches and with cheese, traditionally manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds.  In Chile, boiled quince is popular in desserts such as the murta con membrillo that combines Chilean guava with quince.
caption: Quince cheese
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