Behold the quince in all of their splendor!
Let's face it, I love to bake pies! I love fruit pies, custard pies, and savory pies, it really doesn't make any difference to me. All pies are welcome in my kitchen. However, there is one pie that is my absolute favorite pie of them all, and that pie is a fresh baked Quince and Apple Pie!
The key ingredient in this recipe is the quince. The quince is not widely available at your average grocery store. Check your local fruit stand or specialty store. Honestly, I had never even seen one until I moved to Sonoma county. I have a dear friend in Forestville, who provides me with this wonderful ancient fruit this time of year. When ripe, the quince turns to a yellow or yellow/green color, with a fuzzy skin kinda like a peach. The fruit remains very firm similar to an apple. The aroma is distinctly floral. Whenever I bring a basket of quince home, the whole house smells like a florist shop! Seriously. That said, I suppose you could peel and eat a fresh quince, but you would probably find the fruit to be very astringent and only mildly sweet. The real magic happens when you cook these babies! The fruit softens, takes on a pinkish hue, and becomes a wonderfully fragrant addition to many recipes, especially homemade pies. Quince is very high in pectin and generally does not require any additional thickener such as corn starch*. I could go on and on about the quince and its many unique characteristics, but it's time to make a pie so lets get started. Click "Read More" for the details...
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