I spent last weekend in Melbourne with my friend
of many decades - Marisa, blogger, and author of Sicilian Seafood Cooking. She
cooked, as usual, some wonderful food for me - including artichokes, chickpea
and chicory soup, and poached quinces. This post is in honour of you, Marisa,
and your marvellous book.
The quince is one of the oldest fruits
enjoyed by humans. Some say it, not the apple, is the fruit of the Tree of
Knowledge. To many, it is a mystery. To most, it is a bit intimidating. How does
one deal with it? It is hard, inelegant, and inedible when raw, but when cooked
becomes a gorgeous, delicately pink, fragrant experience. It is delicious
simply baked or poached with sugar, but if you really want to gild this lily
(and why not?) there are many compatible flavours, including citrus, and the
sweet spices such as cinnamon.
A sixteenth century recipe shows you how to
make a ‘blaunch’ (white) sweet spice mix to use with roasted quinces – which I
am sure would be equally good with the poached fruit.
To make fine Blaunch powder for
rosted Quinces.
Take fyne Suger halfe a
pound beaten in a whote Morter too fyne powder, of whyte Ginger pared halfe an
ounce, of chosen Sinamon a quarter of an ounce beaten to fyne powder, mixt them
well together, and yf you wyl have it moste excellent caste two Spoonful of
Rose of Damask water in the beatyng of the Suger.
The Treasurie of Commodious conceits,
and hidden secrets, (1573) by John Partridge.
Quotation for the Day.
There is greater relish for the earliest fruit of the season.
Marcus Valerius Martialis (38-103 A.D.)
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