Demystifying The Quince
(GH): Here’s a story from NPR on the quince. Like the paw paws I discovered a few weeks ago, quince are a fruit I’ve seldom eaten but keep bumping into this fall. I’ve seen them at the Boise CoOp and at the recent blood sausage festival at the Boise Basque Center (as very delicious quince paste or membrillo).
Laura McCandlish for NPR
Laura McCandlish: Until recently, I had never seen a fresh quince. I knew quince paste, or membrillo, from Spanish cheese plates. I knew that Korean friends boiled down quince juice into a tea.
However, since moving to Oregon I’ve found quinces at the local farmers market and even growing on trees in my neighborhood. In fact, it turns out that the most diverse quince grove in North America, if not the world, thrives at a U.S. Department of Agriculture gene bank just down the road.
Still, close proximity to quinces doesn’t necessarily give you the nerve to try the rock-hard, acerbic fruit. But last spring, I had my quince revelation. Just one bite of the tangy, poached morsel on a charcuterie plate had me counting the days until this fall’s season.
For the full story go to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120288799
