Persian-style Quince Lime Drink

Recipe

Persian-style Quince Lime Drink

By Parisa Z. Ambwani, Resident since 1983

Persian cooks often create luxurious beverages and cuisine creations for a dining feast. Quince not only has a wonderful aroma and taste, but it also provides medicinal benefits. Serves 8

• Ingredients:

• 8 cups spring water

• 4 quinces, peeled, quartered**

• ¼ cup culinary rose petals

• 2 tablespoons honey OR turbinado raw sugar to taste

• Juice of 1 lime, freshly squeezed

Directions: In a 4-quart pot, bring water to boil. Add quince, rose petals, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low heat. Simmer for 1½ -2 hours or until quince is fork tender. Strain off the liquid and discard the solids. Add honey and lime juice to liquid and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Check the consistency and sweetness and make adjustments if necessary. Let cool and serve with ice cubes. Enjoy a royal homemade quince drink.

*Quince (Cydonia): Quince originated in Persia and Turkey. Currently the quince tree is grown in most countries. Quince is a member of the apple family, and like apple, is a source of minerals and vitamins. It is rich in natural water-soluble dietary fiber called pectin, a substance used for thickening gelatinous products. Pectin is used for making perfect jams and jellies. A ripe quince has a wonderful fragrance and is somewhat hard and dry. After slicing quince and simmering in water for a while, the pectin allows the flesh to become soft and a lovely deep rose-pink color with a floral fragrance and pleasant taste. Quince is available mostly during fall. **For easier cutting you may wrap quince in aluminum foil, place in ovenproof dish and transfer into preheated 200-degree F. oven and bake for 45 minutes (to soften without cooking for long time the quince). Note 1: Instead of cooking on the stove top, you may cook quince with water in a 4 quarts ovenproof pot in a 300-degree F. oven for a shorter period of time. Note: 2: If you blend cooked quince pulps (without skin and seeds) with a little sugar and “quince-lime drink” in a power blender and freeze, the mixture you have is called quince sherbet (it is lighter than ice-cream).

About Parisa Z. Ambwani: Parisa, a native of Persia who moved to Blackhawk in 1983, has a BA in Fine Arts. Deeply influenced by her mother’s cooking, she has spent three decades writing cookbooks and pairing food with her poetry, philosophy, herbs and spices, and herbal teas. Parisa’s unique cookbooks are known for their merging of useful culinary information with a clear understanding of the relationship with other human beings and with the universe. She has followed this recipe to write and photograph six books that weave her beliefs into caring words on how to live life to the fullest. Learn more by visiting her website, enlightenedrecipes.com

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