Pâte de Coing Recipe (Quince Paste) (2024)

Published: Dec 21, 2017 · Modified: Jul 30, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

French pate de Coing (Quince paste) recipe is a typical winter recipe for many Mediterranean countries, called Cotognata in Italy and Membrillo in Spain. Quinces are special apples full of pectin, so their jam is firm and can be cut into solid squares. You can eat it as candy, with a piece of bread, or like they do in Spain with Manchego cheese.

What is a Coing - Quince

It is calledPâte de Coing in French, Cotognata in Italian, andMembrillo in Spanish.

Quince is practically an apple but cannot be eaten raw as it is very hard and bitter. But once cooked, its taste is sweet and fruity.

The flavor of the quince is very distinctive, halfway between a pear and an apple, and because the quince has a high content of pectin, the paste is firmer than a jam.

Quince paste is like candies; cut it into square bites, and they last for several weeks. It is a great edible gift and a gluten-free alternative to Christmas cookies.

For more unusual preserves you can make as edible presents, check out the category:

Also, check the recipes:

• Homemade liqueurs
• Homemade Crystallized Violets
• Pepper jelly
• Concord grape Jelly
• Balsamic fig glaze
• Chocolate covered figs

Various versions

I checked out different recipes in different languages and found different versions.

Some peel the apples, some cook them whole, some add the sugar, and others add the caramel. The result may be different.

The Italian and French recipes are very similar, so I follow them.

Ingredients

• Three quince
• Sugar
• Lemon

Instructions

This recipe is separated into three parts: first, we boil the quince, then mash it and cook it with the sugar, then wait two days before we cut it into cubes and serve.

Mashing the quince

1. Clean and cut the quince into quarters

2. Fill a large pan with water and add some lemon juice

3. Place the quince into the pan and let them boil for 30 minutes

4. Drain them from their water

5. While still hot, pass them through a vegetable strainer

6. If you use a KitchenAid strainer, it will automatically remove the seeds and skin

Hint: if you are using a manual vegetable strainer, you have to remove the seeds and the skin before straining them

7. Check the weight of the mashed quince

8. For each 2 lb - 1 kg of cooked quince, you need to weigh 28 oz - 800 gr of sugar

Hint: the proportions are in weight, so you need a kitchen scale. You cannot use cups since they measure the volume.

Caramelizing the quince paste

1. Place the mashed quince and the sugar back into a pan

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2. Bring it to a boil while stirring

3. Simmer for 40 minutes, continuously stirring, as the quince will tend to stick to the pot

4. You will slowly see the paste changing its color into deep orange-pink and will detach from the walls of the pot. The quince paste is ready

5. Cover a rectangular mold with aluminum foil or parchment paper

6. Pour the quince paste immediately before it cools down

7. Shape it flat with a wet knife or spatula

8. Cover with a cheesecloth and let it rest for 48 hours

Hint: the quince paste will be very sticky, do not put the cheesecloth directly over it. The paste needs to dry out, so place something on top that will let the air circulate.

Cutting it into cubes

1. Remove the quince paste from the mold

2. Cut it into slices

3. Cut each slice into a square or rectangular bite

4. You can coat them with sugar or serve them as they are

5. It can be eaten like candies or served as the Spanishdo on a piece of bread with manchegocheese

How to keep and serve it

Once it is ready, I cut it into slices and let them dry. You can store them in airtight containers or jars.

Sprinkle with sugar to avoid them from sticking to each other.

It will last three months so that you can make it ahead of Christmas.

I keep it on a plate with Marron Glace, nuts, and gingerbread cookies. When the boys want a snack, they can help themselves.

Equipment

I recommend using an electrical vegetable strainer from KitchenAid that automatically removes the seeds and skin from the flesh.

It simplifies the entire process, and it is a good investment if you want to make several fruit preserves or mashed vegetables and potato recipes like, for example, gnocchi.

Other equipments you would need are:

• Large pan
• Wooden spoon
• Metal or heatproof rectangular mold
• Spatula
• Food scale to measure weight
• Aluminum foil or parchment paper

You can use an electrical caldron if you do not want to stir for 40 minutes. You can also use it for polenta and risotto

Top tips

• I recommend using an electrical vegetable strainer that automatically removes the seeds and skin from the flesh.
• If you are using a manual vegetable strainer, you have to remove the seeds and the skin before straining them
• Simmer for 40 minutes, continuously stirring, as the quince will tend to stick to the pot
• The quince paste will be very sticky, do not put the cheesecloth directly over it. The paste needs to dry out, so place something on top that will let the air circulate.
• You can store them in airtight containers or jars.
• Sprinkle with sugar to avoid them from sticking to each other.

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