Quince panettone & thyme pudding for a gifted glut

I am standing in the garden, holding a bucket of quince, talking to a small tree.

I am standing in the garden, holding a bucket of quince, talking to a small tree.

I’m showing the quince to the tree, holding the fruit up to the branches so the tree can see it, can breathe in the heady perfume. The tree is a quince tree and it has never fruited. In its defence, the tree was only planted two years ago and they often take several years to fruit. But I don’t think there’s any harm in showing a young tree what it might product when it grows up. Chivvy things along a bit. The quince in the bucket are gifted quince and I realise it is one of my life goals to have enough quince to give them away. Any quince at all would do to be honest.

Because I love cooking with quince.

Every year, November mostly involves quince. I always make Nigella’s Quincemeat from How To Be a Domestic Goddess which I use for mince pies but also for my Quincemeat Bakewell Tart. Then there’s Nigel Slater’s endlessly useful pickled quince recipe from an ancient article in The Guardian (ways with pickled quince coming soon). They roast nicely too – low and long in the oven – to serve with rich meats like duck which love a sweet side.

Processing quince is straightforward enough.

If you are lucky enough to have a bucket of quince given to you, then the key is to enjoy their fragrance filling the kitchen for only a few days before processing them all so they don’t go bad. The poached quince recipe below (which is just a matter of simmering peeled halves or wedges of quince in an almost 50:50 sugar syrup) can be made in bulk and frozen (pictured). Just make sure the wedges are covered in syrup to prevent browning. The drained quince pieces are a delicious quick dessert with any combination of brownies, cookies, custard, ice-cream, cream and/or granola. Plus, a splash of the poaching syrup in a G&T or in a glass of Prosecco never goes amiss.

Quince, panettone & thyme bread and butter pudding

A twist on a classic, this pudding is made a little unusual with the addition of thyme and pistachios. The poached quince which nestles amongst the panettone is a handy recipe in its own right – great granola, ice-cream, custard etc. You can also swap the panettone for brioche if you prefer.

Serves 6-8