Olivier Poels 5:40 p.m., October 21, 2021
Cotignac is a quince jelly whose pulp has been cooked with sugar and then filtered.
It was invented by an apothecary from the eponymous town in the Var.
The latter settled in Orleans, in the 15th century, bringing with him this delicacy which will make his popularity and of which François I was a great fan.
The apothecary would have been inspired by quince paste recipes that already existed in Antiquity (quince was cooked with honey).
The quince has been known since Antiquity (we do not know precisely its origins).
At the time, it was called Cydonie pear.
It is probably one of the fruits whose current taste is closest to what it originally was - there have been no crosses (there are only about 30 varieties of quince trees). ).
It is a fruit that only ripens on the tree.
Cotignac recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of quince
- 750 gr of honey
- 75 cl of red wine
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
1. Peel and cut the quinces
2. Collect the hearts and seeds and put them in a muslin
3. In a large saucepan, melt the honey, add the red wine and spices then the quinces.
4. Leave to cook gently for 1 hour
5. Skimming
6. Filter
7. Pour onto a baking sheet and let cool.