Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

The stunning vista and fantastic autumn colours at McLarens Falls Park are what make the area such a popular destination in the weekend.

The Tauranga disc golf association have been playing an annual tournament ‘The Extreme' up near the equestrian centre for the past 15 years. Having only recently returned to McLarens Falls Park last weekend after a six year absence, I noticed a lot of changes, updated amenities and a vast number of visitors enjoying the bush walks and various picnic spots. The last time I played, I can recall gathering a large bag of quinces from a tree on the course.

Because the park is so popular these days, the course has changed to avoid parked cars and picnic spots but I still managed to track down the same old gnarly tree – on the verge of losing its precious fruit.
Other hunter gatherers were foraging nearby for some fascinating fungi, but I let them have their own investigative mycology as I was happy with my haul of beautiful ripe quince.

That was because I wanted to create the wonderful membrillo, which is itself the colour of autumn. The reduced pulp of the stewed fruit is astonishing with any cheese and keeps really well.
Hats off to the Tauranga District Council for the wonderful and popular McLaren Falls Park: a true paradise. Oh…and thanks for the quince!

Membrillo

Ingredients

3kg ripe quince:
washed, peeled, cored and chopped
1 split vanilla pod
Rind of two lemons
¼ cup lemon juice
4 cups white sugar:
the exact amount will be determined during cooking

Method

Place the quinces in a large sauce pan and cover with water. Add vanilla pod and lemon peel and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes until the quinces are soft. Strain the water, remove the vanilla pod and blend to a pulp. Measure out the pulp if you have four cups, then add four cups of sugar to whatever you end up with, use equal amounts of sugar. Return to pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved then simmer for about 1.5hours, taking care to avoid mud pool-like splashes when giving the mixture an occasional stir. The mixture will thicken and change colour like the leaves in autumn to a brown, gold, dark orange.
If you find the mixture hasn't changed colour try microwaving some in a dish.
If you get a darker colour without burning, microwave the rest in small bursts for about 20 minutes total.
Transfer the paste while it's still hot to a baking tray lined with buttered, greaseproof paper. Spread out the paste on tray and bake at 125 degrees Celsius for an hour.
Allow to cool then cut and store in containers in the fridge for up to a year.
Bring out whenever you have some cheese, especially soft cheeses, and you will realise why you went to all that trouble.