I believe there are several kinds of edible, "proper" quince. My grandfather had two, one only for cooking and the other, juicy, sweet and highly aromatic, to eat raw. I adore quince, from its beautiful blossom to its priceless fruit.
Moreover, its equally aromatic leaves, when dried, make lovely, refreshing tea; wonderful when taken with toast and honey! (Or whatever you may prefer, of course.)
The fruits from both trees were used to make the most wonderful preserve, nothing like it in my opinion; and they were also cooked with pork. Amazing!
Hi Danae, I do agree quince is a very special fruit; and it's also sacred to Aphrodite, no less!
During our last holiday in Crete, we had the most wonderful pork with quince and dried plums (soft prunes). It was a small, friendly restaurant and we were even asked if we'd like apricots added too. We declined the offer but next time we'll try it.
Though I cook pork with quince and apples fairly often, I've never had pork with plums/prunes. I like the slightly unusual combination of fruit and meat or fish. It can work amazingly well. Lamb is also delicious with apricots and feta, glazed with a little quince preserve.
When we were in Crete some years ago, we had beef with feta, pretty amazing; and I saw that Alexis Conran cooked chicken with feta( yummy!) but, disappointingly, he didn't use quince in his cooking. Perhaps they don't have them in Athens!
Hi Lief UK, I think quince is a bit slow to fruit, so I wouldn't worry about the 5 years of ...laziness. My grandfather's were "proper" trees, not shrubs. He only pruned them to get rid of damaged, or crossing branches, if memory serves, and though he didn't care too much about the heavenly preserves, he loved quince leaf tea.
The idea that there may be no quinces in Athens made me laugh, Danae!
I like lamb with kritharaki (as you probably know, literally: small/fine barley - often sold as rice pasta round here). I like the kritharaki a thousand times more than the lamb.
And talking of Alexis Conran, my younger daughter tells me that he will bring out a Greek cookery book. She threatens to buy it for me! I hope he takes his time; Greek food is amazingly tasty but a bit complicated, I think. Furthermore, I'm not too much of a pots and pans person...
The idea that there may be no quinces in Athens made me laugh, Danae!
I like lamb with kritharaki (as you probably know, literally: small/fine barley - often sold as rice pasta round here). I like the kritharaki a thousand times more than the lamb.
And talking of Alexis Conran, my younger daughter tells me that he will bring out a Greek cookery book. She threatens to buy it for me! I hope he takes his time; Greek food is amazingly tasty but a bit complicated, I think. Furthermore, I'm not too much of a pots and pans person...
Posts
Though I cook pork with quince and apples fairly often, I've never had pork with plums/prunes. I like the slightly unusual combination of fruit and meat or fish. It can work amazingly well. Lamb is also delicious with apricots and feta, glazed with a little quince preserve.
When we were in Crete some years ago, we had beef with feta, pretty amazing; and I saw that Alexis Conran cooked chicken with feta( yummy!) but, disappointingly, he didn't use quince in his cooking. Perhaps they don't have them in Athens!
Hi Lief UK, I think quince is a bit slow to fruit, so I wouldn't worry about the 5 years of ...laziness. My grandfather's were "proper" trees, not shrubs. He only pruned them to get rid of damaged, or crossing branches, if memory serves, and though he didn't care too much about the heavenly preserves, he loved quince leaf tea.
The idea that there may be no quinces in Athens made me laugh, Danae!
I like lamb with kritharaki (as you probably know, literally: small/fine barley - often sold as rice pasta round here). I like the kritharaki a thousand times more than the lamb.
And talking of Alexis Conran, my younger daughter tells me that he will bring out a Greek cookery book. She threatens to buy it for me! I hope he takes his time; Greek food is amazingly tasty but a bit complicated, I think. Furthermore, I'm not too much of a pots and pans person...
Yes, I too've seen it as kritharaki online as well as pastarice or orzo. I'm sure, whatever the name, it tates just as delicious.
I love the daughter who "threatens"!