quince dessert — Turkey

Ayva tatlısı is a dessert of quince halves slowly poached in sugar syrup scented with cloves until the fruit turns from pale yellow to a deep red and becomes soft enough to eat with a spoon, the hollowed core later filled with cream or crushed nuts. This dessert is reported from Turkey, eaten across the country and especially associated with the colder months, though it is served at any temperature, warm, at room temperature or chilled, depending on the household. To prepare it, quinces are peeled, halved and cored, with the peels and seeds often reserved and added back to the poaching liquid for extra color and pectin. The halves simmer for a long time in water, sugar and cloves over low heat, turned occasionally, until they take on their characteristic red hue and the syrup thickens slightly around them. Some cooks shorten the process by starting from quince marmalade instead of poaching raw fruit from scratch, and household touches such as a cinnamon stick, a little lemon juice, or walnuts instead of kaymak change the final balance of the dessert without changing its basic form.