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Quittenbrot

It's Quince time – these fruit so beautiful – like precious Queens!
My small tree carried a lot this year, but then over night comes some animal and gorges on 
the still green fruit, and most of them will be gone – no traces left... squirrels, rats, or...fox? 
Since I love quince cooked in all forms, the sharing with wildlife is harder in this case :)


My mother used to make quince candy for the winter months. Cooking the fruit first, then spreading it on a sheet and baking it in the oven on low heat for many hours into firm jelly. When she cuts it into small rectangular pieces and rolls them in sugar, they are not sticky anymore. But rather jewel like – Quittenbrot. Quince bread. As a kid, I marvel at the long transformative process – magical. And the taste is so unbelievably rich and complex. Fragrant, sweet, and tart, all at once. The texture chewy. A special limited treat, mostly just offered in December and January. High vitamin C content to keep us healthy through the long cold winter. With Mama's oversight lasting us sometimes till Spring time. 

Did she learn this from growing up in Brazil? There they have goiabada, made similarly from guavas. In Spain or Mexico it is called dulce de membrillo. Food and recipes travel worldwide without borders, they ignore the idea and cruel reality of nation states.


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