Title: Tajitos De Bimbrio (Quince Sweets)
Categories: Sephardic Greek Jewish Dessert Fruit
Yield: 30 Balls

2	lb	(2 or 3 large fruit) quinces
1/2	c	Water
1/8	ts	Salt
		Sugar
1	tb	Lemon juice
		Walnut halves

This old Sephardic recipe is from Jewish city of Salonika. The title is an Ladino & not in Greek as one might except. Formerly, at the end of the cooking time the quince paste was dumped on a marble slab & spread out to a thickness of 1-inch, then cut into 2-inch diamond-shaped pieces. This can still be done but the newer style is to prepare balls 1-inch in diameter decorated w/walnut half. My Jewish teacher, who now lives in Athens but was born & raised in Salonika, admitted to me that her personal preference is the modification of this old classic.

1. Cut each quince, w/skin, into slices. Discard cores. Add quince slices, water, & sugar in a pan, cover, & cook over low heat for abt 30 mins. When quince is soft, process the pulp until smooth. Measure pulp & add an equal amount of sugar. Mix well in pan & let mixture stand, covered, in kitchen at room temp overnight.

2. Add lemon juice & put pan over low heat. Stir frequently until liquid has completely evaporated & pulp comes away from the sides of pan in a ball. Cool well enough to handle.

3. Roll 1 heaping ts pulp into a ball. Press a walnut half into top & set aside. Prepare all of quince paste this way. Serve any time of year.

Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. DPileggi in Houston, Texas

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