Indulge yourself in this scrumptious quince paste from Provence called "pâte de coing" in French. The quince is a pome fruit that is related to apples and pears; it is pear-shaped and becomes bright golden yellow when ripe. To make pâte de coing, the quinces are cleaned, peeled, cut and cooked in water. Once the quinces are soft, they are separated from the water and blended with sugar and vanilla and dried to make the final pâte de coing. This delicious pâte de coing is presented in a rectangular cardboard box. (17.63 oz)

The pâte de coing is made in the candy-shop Lilamand that was founded by Marius Lilamand in 1866 in Saint Rémy de Provence. His son Justin carried on with the candy-shop in 1903 and devoted himself to the making of crystallized fruits. His son Pierre continues today the tradition of crystallized fruits and pâte de coing. Cultivation of quince may have preceded apple culture. Among the ancient Greeks, the quince was a ritual offering at weddings; the Romans also used quinces with recipes for stewing quince with honey. Charlemagne was partially responsible for introducing the quince into France with his orders in the year 812 to plant trees in the royal garden. He directed that quinces be planted in well-stocked orchards. Quinces are grown in areas where summers are sufficiently hot for the fruit to fully ripen, which is the case for the Mediterranean area.