iii. Uses of the Fruit in Cooking
The best-known use of quince in Persian cooking is in ḵᵛorešt-e beh, in which chunks of lamb are stewed with slices or cubes of tart quince, and yellow split peas; this dish is always served with rice. Quince is reportedly also used in a variety of ḵᵛorešt-e fesenjān (Āšpazbāšī, pp. 20-21). Another way in which quince is used in Persian cuisine is in āb-gūšt-e beh, a thick soup in which cubes or slices of quince are combined with lamb shanks, various dried legumes, tomatoes, onions, and seasonings. Served with bread, this soup makes a complete meal.
Quince is also used to make toršī-e beh, pickled quince, as well as šarbat-e beh-līmū, a tartish sweet syrup in which lemon juice, sugar, water, and quince syrup are combined. Mixed with water and ice, this syrup makes a refreshing, cool drink; such drinks are normally served to visitors during hot weather.
A delicious, thick preserve made with quince is called morabbā-ye beh. The fruit’s tart flavor combines well with the sugar and water in which it is cooked; quince jam is traditionally served for breakfast but also as a side dish and snack. The early 10th/16th-century chef Bāvaṛčī (pp. 42-43) mentions a sweet bread (komāj-e beh) made with quince, flour, ghee, milk, almond paste, pistachio paste, and rose water.
Bibliography
Ḥājī Moḥammad-ʿAlī Bāvaṛčī Baḡdādī, Kār-nāma, in Ī. Afšār, ed., Āšpazī-e dawra-ye ṣafawī, Tehran, 1360 Š./1981.
Mīrzā ʿAlī-Akbar Khan Āšpazbāšī, Sofra-ye aṭʿema, Tehran, 1353 Š./1974, pp. 4, 20, 22.
N. Ramazani, Persian Cooking, Charlottesville, 1982, pp. 14, 146-47, 252-53, 269.
Recipes for stuffed quince are given by C. Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, New York, 1982, p. 112, and by M. R. Ghanoonparvar, Persian Cuisine I, Lexington, Kentucky, 1992, p. 112; for quince soup, āb-gūšt-e beh, see idem, II, p. 134; and for baked eggs on a bed of quince, šešandāz-e beh, ibid., p. 154.