Quinces have a beautiful evocative flavour and aroma that are preserved even when they are subjected to long cooking as in this recipe.

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Quince paste is a very handy thing to keep in your fridge. If you make a batch of a kilogram or so each year you will be able to jazz up your cheese boards occasionally until the next season comes around. It takes some time to make your own, you need to be watching and stirring for several hours. I like to make it on a wintry afternoon listening to some music.

This recipe is based on the recipe by George Biron, which is published in Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion.

Ingredients:

8 quinces, washed, cored and peeled
1 cup of water
Juice 1 lemon
Sugar

Method:

Retain about a quarter of the cores and pips. They add pectin which helps to get the paste to set.

Roughly chop the quinces and add them to the water, lemon juice and cores in a saucepan. Cover tightly and simmer gently for half an hour or so until the quinces are tender.

Process the cooked quinces and cores and pips until you get a fine pulp. Weigh the pulp and then add three quarters of its weight in white sugar.

Cook the mixture, uncovered, over moderate heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring frequently. Beware of letting it getting too hot and spitting. When the mixture becomes firm so that it is hard to push the spoon around in it you can remove it from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Put the mixture into oiled shallow cake trays which have been lined with greaseproof paper. Dry on a sunny windowsill for a couple of days, or overnight in a very slow oven.

Cut into convenient size pieces and wrap in greaseproof paper for storage in airtight containers.

To Serve:

Quince paste is a superb addition to a cheeseboard. Its distinctive flavour is not overwhelmed by strong cheeses and its sweetness blends well with the sharpness of mature cheese. A dry aromatic Gewürztraminer is an ideal wine to serve with cheese and quince paste.

Aioli is a wonderful, versatile garlic mayonnaise. It is especially suitable with poached or steamed seafoods and seems to have a natural affinity with steamed potatoes. In fact you can use it anywhere you use normal mayonnaise.

You really should try that wonderful Provencal seafood dish Le Grand Aioli.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• half teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Approximately 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

• Crush the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle, or crush it well under the side of a kitchen knife
• Place the egg yolk and mustard into the bowl and whisk well with wire whisk
• Then slowly add the olive oil little by little whisking all the while
• You can do this in a food processor or blender
• You should get a nice mayonnaise consistency
• Store in the fridge

For more garlic recipes just type ‘garlic’ into the search box.

Garlic lovers may be interested in the following books:

Food pairing with aioli

Aioli and other garlic-rich sauces require some thought when choosing an appropriate wine. You need to have sharpish wines when a dish has a dominant garlic flavour. Delicate wines can be overpowered. Vermentino or Viognier can be good choices for white, a rose made from Grenache might also suit. A rustic Italian red wine or perhaps a South Australian GSM is another option you might consider.