Pink Wine Quince Compote

Submitted by duonyte

"My quince tree's boughs are bending to the ground under the weight of the fruit. Quince is a lovely, old-fashioned fruit that deserves to be better known. This is one of my favorite recipes, from the Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, by Hensperger and Kaufmann."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 6 cups
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 4 cups fruity blush wine
• 1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 3⁄4 cups sugar
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 cinnamon sticks, 4-in . each
• 2 slices candied ginger
• 3 medium quinces, about 1 1/2 lbs

directions

1. Place all ingredients, except quince, in the rice cooker bowl.
2. Quarter and peel the quinces with a sharp paring knife. With a melon baller or knife, remove the entire core area, cleaning out all the hard bits. Cut each quarter into 4 slices. (Recently, I've just peeled the quince and then sliced around the core, avoiding the need to scrape out the seed area). Place the quince slices in the wine mixture. Close the cover and set for the porridge cycle. Open the cover twice during the cook cycle to release the steam.
3. When cycle finishes, check the fruit - it should be very tender. If it is not, reset for a second cycle and check every 15 minutes until desired texture is achieved.
4. Remove the bowl from the cooker and let cool. Pour the compote into a storage container, cover and refrigerate overnight. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
5. Note1: It's very important to clean the core carefully -there is a white membrane that will never soften.
6. Note2: white zinfandel or a jug vin rose work fine; authors also suggest a Blanc de Pinot Noir, Lancer's or Mateus.
7. Note3: I use only about half to 2/3 of the sugar and find this quite sweet enough.
8. Note4: I see no reason why this could not be made in a regular rice cooker, a slow cooker, or simmered in a saucepan on the stove, but then you are on your own as to the time. Cooking time is based on my rice cooker, yours may differ.

Reviews

[BecR2400]

Wonderful! My first time using fresh quinces and so glad I made this recipe. As the previous reviewer mentioned, this is a flexible recipe so I decided to add a few handfuls of dried fruits (apricots, mango, dates, prunes, cranberries, and golden raisins) with the quinces just because I had them laying around although this would be perfectly delicious without it. Used a bottle of California pink zinfandel and also couldn't resist adding a few glugs of Captain Morgans spiced rum, pineapple juice, and a split vanilla bean to the mix. The lime juice (I used Rose's and reduced the sugar slightly) imparted a wonderful tanginess--don't leave it out! Made on the stovetop and DH and I kept sampling til I got it right. Took about 2 1/2 hours for me and I got about 10 half pints that I plan on sharing this holiday season. Thanks Duonyte!

 

[Maggie in Florida]

This was delightfully delicious! I used white zinfandel and a lot more quinces than was called for, mostly because I didn't know what else to do with them, and also there seemed to me too much of a ratio between the fruit and the liquid. I had an over-abundant crop this year. No one that I know seems to know what to do with them, or even care to try. So I am stuck with this wonderful fruit, and am trying to look for other recipes and different ways to use them up. I did this very differently than was instructed, and therefore, not officially rating it, as it wouldn't be fair. (If I did rate it, however, I would have to give it 4 stars). This is what I did: I cut them in half, but did not peel them. I then cooked them in water in a large pot on the cooktop for about 45 minutes. They turned a light brown color. I let them cool, then cored them (that was way easier than I had done previously, when they were fresh), then cut each half in about 4 slices. I put only as much quince in the crock pot as could be covered by the liquid, then poured the wine mixture over them. I cooked it on low for about 10 hours. The result was a wonderful, delicate, sweet, but not overly, quince compote. I think adding some raisins and other dried fruit the last 4-5 hours would have been a nice addition. I basically used this recipe, just changed my method of cooking it. Thank you, duonyte, for posting this lovely recipe which I will use evey year when my quince become "ripe". My variety is called "pineapple quince" and may have a different flavor than other varieties.