Winter Recipe: Quince Compote

Everyone is familiar with Japanese quince, which appears in stores closer to winter. It softens when frozen. To make quince compote clear, the quince itself needs to be washed well, preferably with a brush or the rough side of a sponge. The fruit should be cleaned of all fuzz and residue. It is not necessary to peel the quince, as the skin contains the lion's share of all the vitamins.

Cut the quince into slices. Here are several options for slicing Japanese quince for compote. Cut the fruit in half and carefully remove the firm core with the seeds. Remove the indentation of the stalk with the tail and the opposite side (the area with remnants of the flower). Cut each cleaned half into slices.

Alternatively, trim the fruit so that you have a naked core with minimal pulp.

It is desirable for all quince slices to be of the same size and thickness. After all, thinner slices can overcook during cooking, resulting in a not completely transparent compote.

Dissolve sugar in a saucepan with three liters of drinking water. Place the sliced quince in the sweet water. Turn on the heat and bring our future quince compote to a boil.

Compote is more interesting with spices like cloves, cinnamon, and star anise. And if you add half a lemon, thinly sliced, the flavor becomes truly exquisite. Add a stick of cinnamon, a clove, and everything else to our compote, cover with a lid, and simmer for about 10 minutes. This amount of time is sufficient for the quince to become tender and fully cooked. If the fruit was not quite ripe, increase the cooking time to 15-20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and let the beverage steep for another 15 minutes without opening the lid.

While the quince compote is infused with the aromas of spices, sterilize the jars. You can steam them over the saucepan or keep them in a hot oven for 10 minutes (at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius).

Boil the lids separately.

Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise, and cloves from the saucepan with a spoon. Pour the compote into clean jars, placing quince slices in each jar. Seal with lids and wrap in a blanket (to slow down the cooling process). After a day, the jars can be stored in a cool place. This quince compote can also be transferred to a pitcher and stored in the refrigerator. Serve with a mint leaf, if desired.