QUINCE PASTE

(Cotognata)

900 g/2 lb quinces, peeled, cored, and quartered

900 g/2 lb sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Cook the fruit in a heavy saucepan, with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, over a low heat for about 20 minutes, or until it is soft. Remove from the heat, and pass through a food mill or ricer. Add the sugar and the lemon juice and return to the heat. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture becomes very dense and comes away from the pan as you stir. Pour into barely oiled saucers or moulds to a depth of no more than an 3 cm/1 inch. Allow to dry in the open air for several days. Unmould and dry on a rack for 2 or 3 days longer, then dust with sugar and store in a dry place. Cut into small squares or strips and serve as sweets.

In Sicily, cotognata is made in fluted oval moulds of tin, similar to those used for a madeleine, or in pretty ceramic moulds with designs in the bottom. The same moulds are used for another confection that is somewhat similar but made from grape must. Although mostarda, as this is called, is usually made in households where there are vineyards and a supply of must is available during the harvest, it can be perfectly well made from the juice of white table grapes, especially the aromatic varieties such as Smyrna or muscatel.