Have you guys ever tried quince? Until recently, I had no idea what it tastes like. As soon as summer had packed it in, I kept on seeing trays on knobbly, vibrant yellow fruit at my local greengrocers. From a distance, they reminded me of fake fruit made of plaster, which my art teacher used to incorporate into still life scenes. On closer inspection, they seemed hard and a bit intimidating but I was drawn to their beautiful vibrant colour and most beautiful, perfumed smell. After several abandoned attempts to buy a few quinces, I finally plucked up the courage. My idea was to tame these beasts and make something really simple with them.
As all beautiful fresh fruit we used to have with our breakfast oats are no longer in season, we have switched over to porridge and I thought that poached quince should rival its distant cousin, apple, as a great porridge topping. As Duncan watched me struggle to peel and chop these hard, strange looking fruit, he was a bit sceptical about the amazing taste I promised. It wasn’t until about 2 hours later, when he appeared lured by the amazing smell, fork in hand, asking if he can taste some. He’s been in love with poached quince ever since. While prepping quince isn’t a breeze (you need a bit of elbow grease), stewed fruit will reward your effort by tasting delicious, filling your house with the most amazing of smells and turning the most appetising pink hue, like a plant chameleon.
100 g jumbo rolled oats (gluten-free for gluten-free version) any thin plant milk or full fat coconut milk thinned with 50% water a handful of any nuts, chopped seeds from ½ pomegranate (optional) maple or agave syrup, to serve (optional)
