Marmelada Portuguesa (Traditional Portuguese Quince Paste)

Here is a fact I love pulling out at dinner parties: the English word marmalade comes from marmelada, the Portuguese word for quince paste, not orange jam like most people assume. Portuguese cooks were boiling down marmelos, quinces, into thick sweetened paste centuries before the English ever put it on toast, and my avó from Trás-os-Montes always kept a slab of it wrapped in wax paper in the pantry, ready to slice alongside a hard cheese whenever anyone stopped by.

Quince is a strange fruit if you have never worked with it, hard as a potato and too astringent to eat raw, but simmer it low and slow with sugar and lemon and it turns a deep rosy amber and becomes something between a jam and a candy. Poured into a mold and left to set, it firms up enough to slice into neat little wedges, which is exactly how it is meant to be served, next to cheese, never spread like jelly.

This is a good early-fall project, right around when quinces start showing up at farmers markets, and it keeps for months, which makes it one of the few things in my kitchen that genuinely improves the more it sits around waiting to be used.

Pair it with a firm sheep’s milk cheese the way we do with Queijadas de Sintra (recipe on the site) for dessert, or set it out on a cheese board next to a Spanish-style quince paste for a fun side-by-side tasting, since the two countries’ versions are cousins but not identical.

Marmelada Portuguesa Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes · Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes · Total: 1 hour 40 minutes (plus overnight setting) · Servings: 16 small wedges · Calories: ~95 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 lbs quinces (about 5-6 medium)
• 3 cups water, plus more as needed
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (roughly equal weight to the cooked quince pulp)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick, optional

Instructions

1. Rinse the quinces well to remove their fuzzy coating. Quarter, core, and roughly chop them; there is no need to peel.
2. Place the chopped quince in a large pot with the water, enough to just cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes, until completely soft.
3. Drain the quince, reserving a little of the cooking liquid, and let cool slightly. Puree in a food processor or pass through a food mill until smooth, adding a splash of the reserved liquid if it is too thick to blend.
4. Weigh the puree and measure out an equal weight of sugar (or use roughly 2 1/2 cups sugar for this quantity).
5. Return the puree to a clean, heavy-bottomed pot with the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick if using. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 40-50 minutes.
6. The paste is ready when it has turned deep amber-pink and a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pot leaves a clear trail for a second or two before the paste flows back.
7. Remove the cinnamon stick. Pour the hot paste into a parchment-lined loaf pan or shallow dish, smoothing the top.
8. Let cool uncovered at room temperature, then cover and let set overnight before turning out and slicing into wedges.

Recipe Notes

• Quince browns quickly once cut; if you are not cooking it right away, drop the pieces into water with a splash of lemon juice.
• Quinces show up at Middle Eastern, Latin American, and well-stocked American grocery stores in early fall; if you truly cannot find them, this recipe does not translate well to apples or pears, the flavor and set are just too different.
• Stir often once the sugar goes in, marmelada scorches easily on the bottom of the pot in the last 10 minutes.
• Stored in the fridge wrapped tightly, it keeps for several months; a thin film that forms on top is harmless and can be wiped away.