Dulce de Membrillo: Spanish style sweet quince paste recipe

Today I am going to tell you about Membrillo, or “Dulce de Membrillo”, which the Spaniards eat with cheese for breakfast or other meals! Membrillo, which we buy in packages every time we go to Spain and give to friends and family, is simply a dessert made by boiling, grinding and cooling quince, sugar and lemon juice. Its consistency is firm enough to cut into slices, but it feels soft in the mouth while eating.

As far as I know, we do not have such a dessert in Turkey… We have quince jam and quince dessert, but it doesn't have anything in common with Membrillo. I did a little research on the internet, and I saw that it is translated as “quince paste” or “quince jelly” on some sites (and I decided to call it quince paste), but I don't think it reflects the original. Probably because the Spaniards did not know what to say, they called it "Dulce de Membrillo", that is, quince dessert...

Rather than buying it in packages and bringing them on the plane with us, we decided to make Membrillo at home, and its taste and consistency were both very good. If you want to make Membrillo at home and are wondering how to make or serve it, keep reading!

Ingredients:

-1 kg quince

- 700 grams granulated sugar

- 1 lemon

- Very little water

Preparation:

First, we remove the core of the quinces and cut them into medium-sized cubes (no need to peel). We take a lemon and squeeze the juice. Then, we put enough (minimum amount) of water in the pressure cooker to cover the bottom of the pot. We put the lemon juice, quince and sugar mix in the pot and start cooking on low heat for half an hour.

After cooking, open the lid and blend the quinces with a blender. At this stage, the quince needs to be cooked a little more, as it may still have a liquid consistency. We opened the lid of the pressure cooker and boiled it for another hour, stirring occasionally. You can tell it's ready with a little experiment. If the wooden spoon you are mixing is stuck in the middle of the Membrillo, it stands still and does not fall, it means that it has the right consistency and is cooked enough.

Then, you can pour the mixture into a square or rectangular glass container (covered beforehand with baking paper) and put it in the refrigerator to cool. We kept it in the refrigerator for a day.

The next day, turn the bowl upside down on a cutting board or plate and remove the baking paper. Your delicious & homemade Dulce de Membrillo or Spanish style sweet quince paste is ready! You can serve it by slicing with a knife!

Presentation:

Since membrillo is an essential element of Spanish cheese plates, it can actually be eaten with any type of cheese. If you want to make your own Spanish-style cheese platter at home and present Membrillo in this way, you can find my blog post where I share our tips for the most beautiful cheese platter/charcuterie board here, and our YouTube video here!

If you do not want to make a cheese platter, but want to snack with a simpler combination, you can do it like this:

Grab a classic, plain, sweet biscuit you love (we used Spain's classic biscuit "Galleta Maria"). Spread your favorite cream cheese generously on top. After the cheese, put a thin and small slice of Membrillo. Complete the combination by placing a walnut on top! When these flavors come together, they make a great snack, let me tell you! But as I said, Membrillo can be eaten any way you like and with any kind of cheese!

You can also watch our recipe video here:

¡Buen provecho! Enjoy!