Viadukt finds

The Viadukt  The Viadukt has been open for a while now, but I hadn't had a chance to go visit.  It made for a nice afternoon as we walked back down Josefstrasse to Zurich and were able to hit some of the ethnic stores on the way.  

The Viadukt has a lot of fresh fruits and veggies.  The British cheese shop is also there, next to a very good  looking bagel place. yum. We bought Quinces.  I had never seen these before - they are kind of like a cross between pears and yellow apples.  They are very hard to de-core as well, so please be careful when you do.  

What you need:

Quince - I used 4

Sugar - an amount equal to what your pureed quince turns into

water

First, wash the quinces, peel, and cut them into quarters.  Carefully remove the core.  Chop them into small chunks.  Put them in a large pot and cover with water (think making mashed potatoes).  Let cook for about 30 minutes after boiling, covered.  If a fork goes in easily, they are done. 

Put in a blender (I have a small one so did this in batches) and blend until smooth.  I ended up with about 2 cups of pureed quince, so I added 2 cups of sugar and the quince to the same pan.  Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved, at a low heat.  Let the mixture cook for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

You may need to put a lid on it as it spits at about 45 minutes in, but put it at an angle so it is not completely covered.  You will know when it is done. It starts to get a few specks of dark orange and then about 5 minutes after, the entire mixture turns the deep orange color and it is a lot thicker than when you started. 

Spread the mixture on a baking pan (the smaller the pan, the thicker your paste will be - think brownies), on top of some parchment paper.  Put in an oven at 50 C for an hour. If you have the option of putting the oven fan on, do that as well.  Any part you are not eating, wrap in foil and keep in the fridge.  We waited until then next day to eat it.  It is very sweet (2 cups of sugar), but you are supposed to have it with cheese. We used Manchego (Coop) but Iberico may be good as well.