Cooking round-up
18 October 2023 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlodeThis month I was given a bag of real quinces (i.e. not japonica fruit).
I made Patchwork Orchard Pie (a bit dominated by the pear -- I scaled it down and possibly didn't get the proportions right), Lamb and Quince Tagine (first using the vegetarian version with roasted squash and then making it again with some actual mutton -- disappointingly, it tasted exactly the same as lamb so far as I could tell!), Apple and Quince Crumble, putting the slices of quince in the oven first to pre-soften them, Apple and Quince Cobbler, which is basically the same thing with scones on top instead of crumble, and Quince and Orange Compote and Lamb With Quince from It's Raining Plums.
Verdict: all the lamb and quince recipes taste fairly similar (sweet/sour and spiced -- to the degree that using or omitting the meat itself doesn't make that much difference!) Quince and apple is definitely a classic combination provided you don't introduce pear; as all the cookbooks say, it really does result in a 'honeyed' taste. The quince and orange was also a tasty combination, though the 'compote' is really a fruit cream (made in my case with whipped evaporated milk instead of double cream -- it still held its shape thanks to the stiff and sticky quince puree!)
I also made a big batch of crab-apple jelly, some of which I used to sweeten the quince & apple crumble as an experiment.
In terms of historical cookery I made a Norfolk Million Pie -- 'million', 'malin', 'meloun' etc. apparently being the older term for all hard-skinned fruits from the durian to the pumpkin ('pompion') before later horticulturalists decided that only what had previously been known as the 'musk-melon' should be counted as a true melon!
I also made a rhubarb tansey, using a combination of all sorts of 'tansey' recipes from various sources, most of which, like me, do not include the actual herb.... It is basically a custard, which may or may not be thickened with breadcrumbs to make it go further. The Million Pie is a recipe worth saving for the next time I have a marrow, or even a pumpkin -- the leftover mixture was a lot more successful in tiny pastry cases than my attempt at pumpkin pie, and it is more economical as well -- but I shan't bother with the tansey again.
I made Patchwork Orchard Pie (a bit dominated by the pear -- I scaled it down and possibly didn't get the proportions right), Lamb and Quince Tagine (first using the vegetarian version with roasted squash and then making it again with some actual mutton -- disappointingly, it tasted exactly the same as lamb so far as I could tell!), Apple and Quince Crumble, putting the slices of quince in the oven first to pre-soften them, Apple and Quince Cobbler, which is basically the same thing with scones on top instead of crumble, and Quince and Orange Compote and Lamb With Quince from It's Raining Plums.
Verdict: all the lamb and quince recipes taste fairly similar (sweet/sour and spiced -- to the degree that using or omitting the meat itself doesn't make that much difference!) Quince and apple is definitely a classic combination provided you don't introduce pear; as all the cookbooks say, it really does result in a 'honeyed' taste. The quince and orange was also a tasty combination, though the 'compote' is really a fruit cream (made in my case with whipped evaporated milk instead of double cream -- it still held its shape thanks to the stiff and sticky quince puree!)
I also made a big batch of crab-apple jelly, some of which I used to sweeten the quince & apple crumble as an experiment.
In terms of historical cookery I made a Norfolk Million Pie -- 'million', 'malin', 'meloun' etc. apparently being the older term for all hard-skinned fruits from the durian to the pumpkin ('pompion') before later horticulturalists decided that only what had previously been known as the 'musk-melon' should be counted as a true melon!
I also made a rhubarb tansey, using a combination of all sorts of 'tansey' recipes from various sources, most of which, like me, do not include the actual herb.... It is basically a custard, which may or may not be thickened with breadcrumbs to make it go further. The Million Pie is a recipe worth saving for the next time I have a marrow, or even a pumpkin -- the leftover mixture was a lot more successful in tiny pastry cases than my attempt at pumpkin pie, and it is more economical as well -- but I shan't bother with the tansey again.