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Dried quince
Angela Braun

Dried Quinces

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Course: Preserve
Cuisine: French, German
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Quinces as many as you like
  • Water
  • Juice of one lemon or apple vinegar

Method
 

  1. Rub the fuzz off the quinces and wash them thoroughly.
  2. Put some water into a bowl and add the lemon juice or apple vinegar
  3. Peel the quinces if you like, but it’s not essential. Quarter them and remove the cores and any hard or “grainy” parts.
  4. Cut the quinces into slices of about ¼ inch (6mm) and put them into the lemon water to prevent browning.
  5. Drain the quince slices and dab them dry.
  6. You can either dry the quinces in the oven or a dehydrator.
Dehydrator
  1. Clean the dehydrator trays and arrange the quince slices so that they don’t overlap. Start the dehydrator at 60 °C (135 °F) and dry the slices until they’re leathery.
Oven
  1. Line parchment paper on trays or racks and arrange the quince slices so that they don’t overlap.
  2. Set your oven to 60 °C / 140 °F (fan oven) and put the racks or trays with the quinces in. Prop the door slightly open by sticking a wooden spoon into the opening. That way, the condensation water can evaporate.
  3. Dry the quinces for 6 – 12 hours.
  4. Note: it’s impossible to give you an exact drying time as it depends on many factors like air humidity, room temperature, thickness of the slices and the overall moisture content of the fruit.
How to determine whether your quinces are dry enough
  1. First, properly dried quince should be leathery and pliable, not sticky or tacky to the touch. When you cut or squeeze them, there mustn’t be any moisture.
Storage
  1. The most important point is to let the dried quinces cool completely before storing. Once they are cool, put them into airtight containers or vacuum-sealed bags. Stored in a cool and dark place, they will last for 6 -  12 months if properly dried.

Notes

How to use dried quince

The most common (and fastest) use is to snack on dried quinces directly as they are. You can also add them to your morning granola or mix them with nuts for a healthy snack mix.
You can, however, also use dried quince in a more versatile way in sweet and savoury dishes:
- Soak them in hot water, tea or wine, for example, until they are soft again (approx 15 – 30 minutes). Then use the soaking liquid in recipes as it contains flavour and nutrients.
- Add dried quinces to food like Middle Eastern stews (especially khoresh), Moroccan tagines or Turkish compotes. It’s also a great component of European meat dishes, pairs well with savoury dishes like rice pilaf or can be part of stuffing mixtures.
- Chop your dried quince and add it to your oatmeal or porridge. It adds a delicious flavour (and some nutrients) to yoghurt and breakfast cereals. Also, dried quince can be baked very well into muffins, scones or bread. Use it in fruit cakes or spiced holiday desserts as well as in ice cream or frozen yoghurt.
- Use dried quince for beverages. For example, steep it in hot water for a fruity tea. You may also add it to mulled wine or cider to add a fruity flavour.