Recipes › Quince › Quince Poached in Red Wine
Quince Poached in Red Wine
Quince quarters are slow-poached in red wine with cinnamon, star anise, and vanilla until they turn a deep, burgundy-rose colour and become silky-tender, absorbing the wine's tannins and the warm spices into every fibre of their flesh. This elegant dessert requires almost no effort but looks extraordinarily beautiful in its wine-dark syrup. Serve with mascarpone, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice cream.
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Ingredients
- quince, peeled, cored and quartered
- cups dry red wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
- cup water
- cup sugar
- cinnamon stick
- star anise
- vanilla bean, split and scraped
- orange peel (wide strips)
- cloves, whole
Contains: milk, sulphites.
Method
- Peel, core, and quarter the quince. As you work, place pieces immediately into a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon to prevent browning.
- Combine wine, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise, vanilla bean and seeds, orange peel, and cloves in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar.
- Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add quince pieces.
- Cover and simmer gently for 45–60 minutes until the quince is completely tender when pierced with a knife and has turned a deep burgundy colour.
- Remove quince with a slotted spoon. Increase heat and reduce the poaching liquid for 10 minutes until it has the consistency of a light syrup.
- Strain the syrup. Serve quince with the warm syrup spooned over, alongside mascarpone or crème fraîche.
Tips
- The longer you poach the quince, the deeper the colour and more intense the flavour — up to 90 minutes is fine for very hard fruit.
- Raw quince is inedible, so ensure the pieces are completely tender before removing from the poaching liquid.
Ring the changes
- Poach in white wine or rosé for a lighter, more delicate version.
- Add a tablespoon of honey to the poaching liquid for a gentler sweetness.
Keeping it
Store poached quince in the strained syrup in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The colour deepens beautifully over time.
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