Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A firm paste made from quinces and sugar, used in Spanish cuisine and often served with manchego cheese.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish, quince, from Latin melimēla, (a variety of) sweet apples (perhaps influenced by Spanish mimbre, willow), from Greek melimēlon, apple ripening in summer, apple grafted on quince (meli, honey; see melit- in Indo-European roots + mēlon, apple).]

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Examples

  • Today quince paste, known as membrillo in Spanish, is served neat alongside anise-scented fig cakes and Marcona almonds; foods that complement the Spanish cheese plate.

    Quince: The Flavor and Fragrance of Autumn Michelle Krell Kydd 2008

  • Today quince paste, known as membrillo in Spanish, is served neat alongside anise-scented fig cakes and Marcona almonds; foods that complement the Spanish cheese plate.

    Archive 2008-11-01 Michelle Krell Kydd 2008

  • But this soon came to an end, though the stock of muscatels, a quince preserve -- called membrillo -- and

    Five Months on a German Raider Being the Adventures of an Englishman Captured by the 'Wolf' Frederic George Trayes

  • For another instant choice, cube Manchego cheese and quince paste called membrillo, and put one cube of each on a toothpick.

    chicagotribune.com - News 2010

  • For another instant choice, cube Manchego cheese and quince paste called membrillo, and put one cube of each on a toothpick.

    chicagotribune.com - News 2010

  • Although it can be eaten raw or even boiled with sugar, it is normally used to prepare a sweet dish known as membrillo - a type of quince jelly often eaten with cheese, whose name is literally the Spanish word for quince - although this culinary practice is beginning to die out as processed food is gradually taking over the laborious homemade recipes of our mothers and grandmothers.

    thinkSPAIN - The leading English Spanish website 2009

  • Although it can be eaten raw or even boiled with sugar, it is normally used to prepare a sweet dish known as membrillo - a type of quince jelly often eaten with cheese, whose name is literally the Spanish word for quince - although this culinary practice is beginning to die out as processed food is gradually taking over the laborious homemade recipes of our mothers and grandmothers.

    thinkSPAIN - The leading English Spanish website 2009

  • Seven, three European cheeses: tangy Manchego with membrillo, creamy ashed Morbier with red pepper honey, sweet Gorgonzola Dolce on—

    The Kitchen Daughter Jael McHenry 2011

  • The tastings are divine: three types of cheese combined with apple slices, membrillo and a small glass of wine; and private breakfasts and lunches are also available at very reasonable prices, although you'll need to reserve in advance.

    10 of the best shops for bargains in Barcelona 2011

  • Including them alongside the membrillo (quince paste), nuts and fresh fruit on a cheese plate, covering them in chocolate, adding them to homemade local berry, cranberry or rhubarb compotes, to finish a dish of game, fruit plate or chocolate dessert.

    Food and Drink 2009

Comments

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  • quince jelly

    October 12, 2007

  • "Fruit was in a peculiar category of its own. Dried and sugared fruits were greatly admired, especially those preserved in sugar syrup or made into jams or pastes (resembling the modern Spanish flat quince-paste membrillo or the Middle Eastern 'apricot leather')."

    Paul Freedman, Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination (New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2008), 41

    November 27, 2017