I believe that I mentioned in a previous post that one of TM's friends had given us a bunch of quince recently. TM recommended a quince and lamb dish that she had made with her share of the quince. And it did sound delicious. I would like to look it up and give it a try sometime. But I really wanted to try some of the quince recipes from Dessert of the Day. And they had the benefit of being quick and easy and letting me check off a few more recipes from books I already have. So I started with this very basic poached quince recipe.

For this recipe, the quince are sliced and poached in a simple syrup flavoured with vanilla and lemon. It's a pleasant way to enjoy fresh quince if you happen to have some on hand. The results are not earth-shaking, but they are good. And I appreciate that it's simple and comes together relatively quickly. And if you wanted something a bit more substantial, I could see this being a great topping for rice pudding or waffles.

Quince Poached in Vanilla Syrup

From Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 c. water
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice¹
• 3-4 quince, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, water, and vanilla bean and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the quince, lemon juice, and lemon zest and simmer until quince is tender (20-25 minutes).

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¹ I somehow missed the lemon juice in this recipe when I made it! I still got a nice hit of lemon from the lemon zest, but the juice would have given it some extra tang. Whoops! ^Back