The trick to cooking quinces is to maintain their fragrance and delicate flavor while you coax them into tenderness. Gentle poaching is an ideal way to achieve this goal. Use poached quinces interchangeably with poached pears. They’re great with chocolate, with cheese, or with walnuts and arugula as a salad. If you’ve saved vanilla pods from other recipes, use them here in place of fresh beans.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4; serves 4 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the water, sugar, star anise, and vanilla pods and seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Step 2
Peel the quinces and lower them into the poaching liquid. Cut a round of parchment the size of the pan and lay it over the quinces. Top with a lid or plate that is smaller than the pan so the quinces remain submerged and completely covered by the poaching liquid. Simmer very gently, keeping the temperature between 181° and 185°F, until the quinces are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
Step 3
Let cool and store in the refrigerator in the poaching liquid. Serve cold.
