Vanguard News Quince Syrup (Sharbat-e Beh Limou)
2 large quinces, about 2 lbs
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
1/2 cup lime juice
Quarter quinces and remove cores. Do not peel. Wash and pat dry.
Process in juicer. (Note: There is a variation below that doesn't require a juicer.) Bring sugar and water to boil. Add quince juice and lime juice. Boil 30 minutes over medium heat until syrup thickens.
Variation: Tie quince in cheesecloth and cook in 2 cups water over medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Add 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar, and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. (Note: Only half the amount of sugar is used here. I would taste it to see if you need more.) Squeeze and remove cheesecloth and add lime juice.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour syrup in clean dry bottle and cork. (I store my other drink syrups in the refrigerator.)
Mix well 1 part syrup with 3 parts water. Serve chilled over ice.
Stuffed Quince( Dolmeh-e Beh) rom:
4 large quinces similar in size
1/4 cup yellow split peas or green peas
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. ground meat lamb or beef)
2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/3 cup vinegar or lemon juice
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 tsp. saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp. hot water
Wash quinces, cut off tops and hollow out (scoop out seeds and some pulp), leaving 1/2 inch pulp on all sides. Save tops and set fruit aside. Cook split peas in 2 cups water for 30 minutes over medium heat, then drain. OR cook green peas in 1/4 cup water for 10 minutes and drain.
Brown onion and meat in 2 Tbsp. oil. Add tomato paste, 2 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice, split peas or peas, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
Mix thoroughly. Fill quinces with stuffing, replace tops and place in greased baking dish.
Combine 1 cup water with remaining vinegar or lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. butter, and saffron. Pour over the fruit. Cover and place in preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with juices.
Check to see if fruit is done. Serve with bread, yogurt, and fresh herbs.
2 onions, finely sliced
1/3 cup oil or butter
1 lb. stewing meat lamb or beef), cut in 1 inch cubes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups water
2 large quinces
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp. hot water
1/3 cup yellow split peas
In large pot, brown onions in 3 Tbsp. of oil or butter. Add meat and brown. Add salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Add water, cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hr, stirring occasionally.
Wash, but don't peel quinces. Use apple corer to remove seeds. Slice as for apple pie. In skillet, sauté in 2 Tbsp. oil or butter and set aside.
To the meat, add sugar, vinegar or lemon juice, saffron, split peas, and quince. Cover and simmer 35 minutes. Check to see that meat and fruit are cooked. Taste and correct seasoning. Transfer to deep casserole dish and keep in warm oven until ready to serve. Serve hot with chelo
(Note: I am giving the detailed instructions. I don't use the yogurt and I drizzle the remaining saffron over *all* the rice. I also serve the tah dig (crust) with the rest of the rice.)
3 cups basmati rice
8 cups water
2 Tbsp. salt
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. ground saffron, dissolved in 2 Tbsp. hot water
2 Tbsp. yogurt (optional)
Wash rice 5 times in cold water. Bring water and salt to boil in a large non-stick pan. Add washed and drained rice. Boil 6 minutes, stirring gently twice to loosen grains that may have stuck to bottom. Drain rice in colander and rinse in lukewarm water.
In same pot, heat half the butter, 2 Tbsp. hot water, a drop of dissolved saffron, and yogurt. Taking one spatula at a time, place rice gently in pot mounding in the shape of a pyramid.
Dissolve remaining butter in 2 Tbsp. hot water and pour over rice. Place clean dishtowel over pot and cover firmly with lid to prevent steam from escaping. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat and 50 minutes over low heat.
Remove from heat.
Allow to cool 5 minutes on a damp surface without removing lid. Put 2 Tbsp. of the rice in with remaining saffron and set aside for garnish.
Gently remove rice from pot without disturbing crust. Sprinkle saffron flavored rice over top and serve. Detach crust and serve separately.
Pare and core the Quinces and cut them up, putting them into water as they are cored, to prevent them from blackening.
Put them into a preserving pan with 1 lb. sugar and 1 pint water for every lb. of fruit. Boil over a gentle fire until soft. Then put through a sieve, or mash with a spoon, boil up again and tie down in the same way as any other preserve.
In France, before putting the marmalade into pots, a little rosewater and a few grains of musk, mixed together, are added. This is most delicious and among the French, by whom it is called Cotiniat, has a reputation for its digestive powers.
Take equal quantities of Apple and Quinces.
Put into an earthenware jar, 2 quarts of water and, as quickly as they can be pared and sliced, 4 lb. of Quinces.
Stew them gently till soft and then strain them. They must not be boiled too long, or they will become red.
Boil together, for 3/4 hour, 4 lb. of sliced Apples, with the same weight of Quince juice.
When it boils, take it off the fire and add 1 1/2 lb. sugar.
When dissolved, put it back on the fire and boil, together with the Quinces, for another 20 minutes, stirring all the time and removing the scum. Then pot.
Pare and core some ripe Quinces, cut them up, weigh them and put them at once into part of the water in which they will be cooked.
Put the Quinces on the fire, with 1 pint water to each pound of fruit and let it simmer, but not long enough to change the color to red - it should be quite pale.
Strain through a jelly-bag. Weigh the juice the next day and put it in a preserving pan and boil it quickly for 15 minutes.
Then take it from the fire and stir into it 12 OZ. sugar for each lb. of juice. Boil for another 15 or 20 minutes, till cooked, stirring all the time, and remove the scum.
Quinces and Apples can be mixed, making a good combination.
Cooked fruits as deserts! Yeah! You need;
2 quinces
1 cup water
1 table spoon corn starch
3 table spoons sugar
1/4 table spoon ground clove
1 cup whipped cream
Cut quinces in half, peel them, remove the cores and cut in small cubes.
Place them in a pot, add 1/2 cup water and ground clove, and cook until quinces are mashy.
Dissolve starch and sugar in 1/2 cup water, pour into the pot and stir in. While cooking mash quinces with a fork.
Pour it in a plate and cool later refrigerate. Decorate with whipped cream. Serve cold. It is for four servings.
This is a very seasonal dessert with a delightful flavor. When fall comes, don't miss the quince season. You need;
4 quinces,
11/2 cups sugar,
1/2 tea spoon cinnamon,
1 tea spoon grated clove
Whipped cream.
Wash, peel and cut quinces in half. Carve quinces out. Save 4 or 5 seeds. Place them in a pan.
Mix sugar, cinnamon, clove and then sprinkle them over quince halves. Put seeds into the pan. Seeds give to this dessert a nice color. Cover the pan and bake them at 300F about 45 minutes. Let it cool and serve it with whipped cream. It is for four servings.