Quince harvest

They look big,Gattina..I have never tasted these..have they got a distinctive flavour,or can you compare them with another fruit ?

Who is going to make it? Maria or you under her supervision.

They were on gardeners world this week, I think Monty Don said they had a lovely scent.

Yes, I saw him, too, and he's right - they are quite perfumed, and make wonderful jelly. Here they are called "mele di cotone" - cotton apples, and the texture is similar, but the core is like wood and it's very time-consuming, not to say hard work, to prepare them. They have loads of pectin in them, so quite often people make jam with a mixture of stewed quince and other fruit - it sets like a dream.
Let's get this straight, guys, Maria may be able to roll bits of home-made pasta on her kitchen table, but she's a very basic cook. I can knock spots off her - eat one of her crostini and die, it would be so dry and, to a Brit. palate, almost inedible. Kitchen hygiene doesn't feature much round here, either. Another neighbour with a very large family, Teresa, is amazingly generous with her offerings, but we have been warned - if she gives you a jar of her home-made passata, those black bits in it are more likely to be flies than bits of burnt tomato! The Italians (especially the Bolognesi) are incredibly jealous of their reputation in the kitchen, but quite honestly, a lot of the time the food on offer is poor, and very unimaginative.
I've just re-read what I've written, and have had to come back to edit it, it sounds SO big-headed. It all depends on what you are used to. Many households round here do not have anything more than a log-burning stove to work with - no electric oven, or, if they have one they use it for storing bags of flour so mice don't get at it. It's very basic, stove-top cooking for the most part, and that means pasta of one sort or another, EVERY DAY and sometimes twice: preserves, sometimes stews and sauces. They virtually never make cakes or bread or puddings, they buy them, hardly ever have roast meat unless they buy it from the Co-op delicatessen counter, and rarely fried meat or fish. The vegetables, if they feature at all, are generally overcooked and cold. However, they eat lots of sausages and preserved meats and cheese and salad (very bitter, for preference), and fruit. Oil on everything. It sounds healthy, but I'm not so sure.

Shall I tell Maria what you said? I know somebody living in Bologna who speaks Maria's language. I little dirt in the kitchen helps us to built our defensing immunity system and our Maria may know that of course.
You can't make me change my mind. I remain a fanatic supporter of champion Maria.
Have a nice Sunday Gattina.

Strange but true..although I love Italy,I'm not a big lover of pasta ! It is a last resort meal for me,but OH and rest of family like it..although it does taste nicer in your region,and I quite enjoy it as a starter..without the black bits!, your neighbours must have built up immunity to bugs..still alive anyway ..and Maria has survived all these years ..:o) I think it is far too much over the top these days..and no need for a spray for this and one for that ..one will suffice,and very clean hands...I do use separate chopping boards for raw and cooked meats though....hope you get your Quince jelly made,it sounds lovely..:o)

I love your stories Gattina, but i think I'll pass on their food.

Costas, I think you should tell her - she'd roar with laughter! We have an agreement - she doesn't eat my food and I don't eat hers. Bloomer, I couldn't agree with you more - I'm no fanatic. Believe me, Maria has survived far, far worse than a dirty kitchen, but her history is a private affair and I wouldn't want to tell anyone else.

That's nice you understand each others ways ...no dreading the invitation to Dinner for either of you ! Lol.
I can imagine some of Maria's history,given her age..she will probably have experienced a lot over the years..

it was what the occupying forces did to her family during the war. There were some awful atrocities in this area - every family has stories to tell.

That is exactly what I was thinking,Gattina..

Stiki, I promise that if you gather a bowl of these and leave them in your living room you will enjoy the fragrance for weeks. You can't store them near other fruit or veg as the fragrance permeates into them.

Sounds like a lovely thing to do! I don't have any in the garden though, do they sell them in shops?

No but there are loads in car parks in out of town shopping complexes, it must have been a fad in the 1980's. My mother is visiting tomorrow and she will collect a couple of bag fulls.

Lancashire is a long way for me to visit a car park!!!

I don't think it was confined to Lancashire Stiki. I sometimes think there is just one supplier of soft landscaping in this country. That's why Phormium, Photinia and Hypericum are everywhere now.

i see what you mean ~ its not exactly the same here but there are certainly similarities.

anybody seen any quinces in the west midlands area??

I made some quince jelly this year but it took so long to set that I ended up with only 2 jars of it after having to re-boil it. The end result is fabulous and what a flavour. I think I may have added too much water - the recipe was a bit vague as to ingredients.

Gosh1 I'm impressed by all this industry especially as I never make jam. Shocking or what? But who is Maria? she sounds like an interesting character !!!

i think maria is gattina's elderly italian neighbour breda.

There's a picture of my lovely neighbour Maria on one of my Blogs, Breda. She has an ardent admirer in Costas1 who wants to kiss her hand!