What can I do with ‘quince’?

Quince and Vanilla jelly - photo taken by Eric Leong

When you Google “quince”, one of the first few search engine suggestions is “quince how to eat“.  A fruit that resembles a fuzzy pear, the quince tree is grown widely on the Island; unfortunately, not many people know what to do with it, since it tastes bitter when eaten raw.  Luckily, for me (and all others who find themselves searching “quince how to eat”), there are a couple who know how to prepare it, one of whom is the Valhalla Farm Herbs N’ Things, an exhibitor at the Organic Islands Festival.

The Valhalla Farm is located in Duncan, in the heart of the Cowichan Valley.  The owners, Pat and Henri Andersen, both came down to Saanich to attend the Festival for the 5th year in a row.  Their exhibit was a fascinating apothecary of jellies, jams, and herbs, and Pat had a set of jellies for patrons to try.  I glanced at the names on some of the jars – ‘Black Fire’, ‘Roasted Plum and Cicely’ – and my curiosity simply couldn’t resist: I had to try some!  I tried one called ‘Garlic and Dragon Fingers”, and I was nearly taken aback with the

Garlic and Dragon Fingers jelly - photo taken by Eric Leong

spiciness.  It immediately reminded me of the food from Southeast Asia, where my family roots are.  When I asked Pat what ‘dragon fingers’ were, she told me that they were a variety of Thai peppers, and they’re grown locally on their farm.  No wonder, I thought to myself.  The taste is so similar to the chili sauce used in Southeast Asian cuisine that it could potentially be used as a great ‘100 mile diet’ substitute!

My tongue was looking for something sweet to resolve the spicy taste of the jelly, and my eyes fell on the ‘Quince and Vanilla’.  Pat and Henri told me about the quince fruit, and its tart taste discouraged many from trying to eat it.  What a pity that is, because the ‘Quince and Vanilla’ jelly tasted absolutely delicious.  Henri mentioned that, while eating it from the tree may be distasteful, boiling and cooking a quince fruit will truly reveal its flavours.  I tasted zero bitterness in this jelly and, combined together with the vanilla, it tasted like the fond honey sticks I had when I was growing up.

Pat and Henri will be here at Organic Islands for the whole weekend if you want to try this out for yourself.  You can also visit their website to see  their other products and great recipes to cook with their jellies too.

Valhalla Farm exhibit at Organic Islands - photo taken by Eric Leong