Vanilla Poached Quince

Happy Monday My Dears,

I hope you all had a lovely sunny weekend. If you were at Splendour in the Grass I hope you're not too hungover and that you said hi to Florence And The Machine for me like you promised you would.

Here's a little bit of magic to ease your Monday morning sulky mood. Take one hard, yellow quince, bake it with some sugar and vanilla for a couple of hours and hey presto it turns ruby red and melts in your mouth. If only everything was so easy.

Our pet kitty died on the weekend. His name was Tashi, named after Tashi The Elf in the kid books. Even though he probably would have turned up his nose at fruit, preferring sardines, this post is dedicated to him. I'll miss you Taneshka, you were always king of cats to me.

Vanilla Poached Quince
adapted from Gourmet Traveller (July 2010)


2 quinces, peeled and cut into 8, core removed and peelings reserved
280ml water
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

Preheat oven to 130 degrees C. Bring the water, sugar and vanilla pod and seeds to the boil in an ovenproof baking dish over high heat. When it comes to the boil, reduce heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add quince, cover with peelings, cover with a piece of baking paper, replace the lid and bake in the oven until soft and deep pink (about 3.5-4 hours).

Remove quince from syrup and place in airtight container. Strain the syrup into a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until reduced by nearly half (15-20 mins). Pour syrup over quince. Will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 month.