Why It Works
- Browning the meat creates a deep, savory base for the braise.
- Cooking the quince draws out its pectin, creating a glossy sauce that clings to the meat and fruit.
At the heart of Persian cuisine are the famous slow-cooked meat braises, called khoresh. This expansive class of dishes has been a staple in Persian cooking for centuries, with a remarkable range of preparations. Khoreshes can be made with a wide array of meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes, with some versions highlighting specific regional flavors or the best ingredients of a particular season. Khoresh-e-beh is a seasonal Persian braise that pairs lamb, beef, or chicken with quince and dried sour plums, striking a rich balance of sweet, tangy, and savory flavors.
Persian cuisine is widely known for being “plant-forward,” a style of cooking in which vegetables, herbs, and fruits are given starring roles. Khoresh-e-beh is an excellent example of this tradition, beautifully demonstrating how meat is used to enhance, rather than dominate, a dish. The meat lends savory depth and richness, but the dish’s signature sweet and tangy flavors come from the quince and dried plums, with the meat taking on a more supporting role. This particular khoresh is undeniably rooted in the vibrant, aromatic qualities of the fruits, making it a perfect example of how Persian cooking often celebrates nature’s harvest as the heart of the meal.
The Story of Khoresh-e-Beh
In Persian, quince is called beh. It’s a versatile fruit used in various ways in the Persian culinary landscape. Beyond khoresh-e-beh, quince is used in savory dishes such as stuffed quince, as well as sweet preserves, such as jam and compote. It’s also simmered into a syrup that’s served as a cooling summer beverage.
The precise origins of khoresh-e-beh are unknown, but the dish has been in Persian cooking for centuries. One of the earliest known references to quince as an ingredient is in the work of the 14th-century satirical Persian poet, Boshaq At’Ameh, who cleverly wove very detailed culinary terminology into his poetry. The first known full-fledged khoresh-e-beh recipes appear in the only two surviving 16th-century Persian cookbooks from that era.
Regarding the dish’s geographical origin, it’s widely believed that khoresh-e-beh originates from the city of Isfahan in central Iran. This region is renowned for growing some of the finest quinces in the world, making it a highly plausible birthplace for a dish that celebrates this fruit.
Khoresh-e-beh is not as famous globally as some other Persian meat braises, like ghormeh sabzi or fesenjān, but it holds a special place in Persian households. The deep appreciation for the dish extends to the Iranian diaspora, including communities in the US and Europe. It is also significant among Iranian Jews, who prepare khoresh-e-beh for some Shabbats and during high holidays like Yom Kippur, when it serves as a pre-fast meal.
Khoresh-e-beh is traditionally considered a seasonal dish, most often prepared during the fall and winter when fresh quince starts showing up in corner produce markets, farmers markets, and well-stocked grocery stores throughout the Northern Hemisphere. However, thanks to growers in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly those in Chile, quince can be found in the off-season in Middle Eastern grocers, specialty supermarkets, and online sources.
Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari
Quince: An Intriguing Fruit
Quince has an ancient and storied history, with its origins tracing back to Central and Southwest Asia’s Caucasus and Trans-Caucasus regions, an area encompassing modern-day Iran, Turkey, and Armenia. As the sole member of the Cydonia genus within the Rosaceae family (the same family as apples and pears), the cultivation of the fruit began thousands of years ago, with evidence of domestication found in Mesopotamia. Its journey across the ancient world led it to the Mediterranean, where it became a cornerstone of Greek and Roman cultures. The ancient Greeks revered the fruit so much that they named its genus after the city of Cydonia on the island of Crete and symbolically linked it to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The Romans, in turn, highly valued it for its use in preserves.
While quince was once widespread across Europe and brought to the Americas by settlers, its commercial production has steadily declined in both regions. Quince trees are hardy and about as easy to grow as apples, but unlike apples or pears, quince is most often cooked before eating. Over time, that distinction made it less appealing for everyday use, and growers shifted toward more sweet fruits that could be eaten raw out of hand. In Europe, cultivation persists in smaller pockets such as Spain, Portugal, and the Balkans. Today, significant quince orchards remain in places such as Turkey, Iran, and Argentina, where the fruit continues to play a vital role in local cuisines.
Despite its decline in large-scale production, quince still holds a cherished place in Spanish cooking—most notably in membrillo, the quince paste traditionally served with Manchego cheese and whole walnuts as a simple dessert. It also maintains cultural and culinary importance in its native regions and beyond, where it is valued both for its fruit and as a rootstock for pear trees.
Quince is a visually and sensorially distinct fruit. When it ripens in late autumn, it is a bright golden-yellow and typically has a lumpy, irregular shape, resembling a large, bumpy pear or apple. Its skin is covered in a soft, white fuzz that it mostly sheds as it ripens on the tree. The raw flesh is notably hard and dense, with some astringency, which is why it is generally not eaten raw. While this astringency is more pungent in underripe quince, it persists even when the fruit is fully ripe.
To me, quince will always be a fascinating fruit. During slow cooking, its pale flesh undergoes a striking transformation, turning first pink and then a deep ruby red. Heat and oxygen trigger natural compounds in the fruit to convert into anthocyanin pigments, the same family that gives berries and grapes their vivid colors.
Quince is also exceptionally rich in natural pectin, especially in the peel and core, which is why it’s so prized for making jams and preserves. Its seeds, however, contain something different: a mucilaginous gel that isn’t pectin at all, but another natural carbohydrate long valued both as a culinary thickener and in traditional medicine for soothing coughs, sore throats, and skin irritations. Add to this the quince’s captivating scent—vanilla, citrus, apple, and spice—with the power to fill an entire kitchen, and its allure only grows stronger.
Quince’s true magic, though, is its transformation from hard, gritty, and almost inedible when raw to sweet, delicate, and complex once cooked—a flavor often described as a blend of apple, pear, and tropical fruit with a whisper of vanilla. Layered onto this is its deep cultural symbolism—from ancient Greece, where quince was sacred to Aphrodite and associated with love and fertility, to its later role in Persian poetry as a symbol of romance—and it’s easy to see why it has inspired such enduring fascination.
Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari
Some Tips on Buying and Cooking With Quince
Quinces vary drastically in size and weight depending on their growing region and supplier. Over the years, I have seen them in US markets as small as 6 ounces (170 grams) and as large as 14 ounces (400 grams). For this reason, it’s always best to purchase them by weight.
Compared to apples or pears, quinces have a much harder, woody, and oddly shaped core. A common apple corer will not work to remove the core—they are not strong enough or wide enough to successfully remove the core. Having cored close to thousands of quinces over the years, my recommendation is to start by using a large and sturdy chef’s knife to cut each quince into quarters vertically. Then, using the same knife, carefully cut out the core from each quarter.
Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari
The Sour Dried Plums
While “dried plums” in the US are almost synonymous with the soft, sweet, black prunes most people know, the term actually encompasses a much broader and more diverse category of fruit. A dried plum is simply a plum that’s been dehydrated, but the resulting fruit’s color, flavor, and texture can vary dramatically depending on the variety of plum used. Generally speaking, the range includes:
- Sweet dried plums (such as prunes): These are the most familiar type, made from specific plum varieties that are naturally high in sugar. They are typically dark, soft, and have a rich, sweet, and jam-like flavor. This category, what most Americans call a “prune,” is a popular snack and baking ingredient, and a common addition to sweet dishes.
- Tart or sour dried plums: Found in many Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines, these are made from a variety of unpitted sour plums that are dried to preserve their natural tartness. They can range in color from light yellow to dark reddish-brown and are often firm, even when ripe. Prized for their punchy, sour flavor, they are a key ingredient in savory dishes such as stews and rice pilafs, where they provide a bright, zesty contrast to rich, savory flavors.
Khoresh-e-beh is traditionally made with sour dried plums. They are readily available year-round in Middle Eastern and Asian grocery stores, in neighborhood specialty food markets, and well-stocked supermarkets, like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s. They can also be sourced online from retailers such as Kalamala Persian Grocery, Sadaf, Persian Basket, Tavazo, and Amazon. Sour dried plums are marketed under a wide range of names and spellings, including Aloo Bukhara, Alloo Bokhara, Golden Sour Prunes, Aloo Khoreshti, Aloo Maragheh, Aloo Baraghan, Aloo Torghabeh, and Dried Aloocheh. (In Persian, plums are called “aloo” not to be confused with the same-sounding word in Hindi, which means potatoes.)
If you don’t have access to sour dried plums, you can substitute prunes or any other dried sweet plums. If using a sweet variety of dried plum, simply double the amount of lime or lemon juice called for in the recipe below.
Also, keep in mind that most dried sour plums you’ll come across are not pitted. Don’t attempt to remove the pits—it’s a finicky process that tends to tear the flesh and waste some of the fruit. While cooking, the plums will absorb plenty of braising liquid and plump up, and diners can easily spit out the pits—a practice that has long been part of this dish’s tradition.
What Meat to Use
This dish can be made with lamb, beef, or chicken. If the choice is between lamb and beef, I highly recommend lamb for its richer flavor. For lamb, typical braising cuts work well here, such as lamb leg, shoulder, neck, and shank. My go-to cut for braising is leg of lamb. It is a hardworking muscle that contains plenty of collagen (intramuscular fat and connective tissue), which breaks down during a long, slow cooking process, creating a texture that is spoon-tender. If you decide to go with beef, the best cuts of beef for braising include chuck, bone-in short ribs, shanks, and, for a real treat, oxtail. When making this dish with chicken, I suggest using bone-in thighs for a richer flavor, although cubed boneless breasts work well too—just be sure not to overcook them.
Variations of Khoresh-e-Beh
This recipe is considered the most popular quince khoresh in Persian home kitchens, but two other versions of khoresh-e-beh deserve mention. One version leaves out the dried plums entirely. To make it, simply increase the amount of quince by 25% and add three times more lime or lemon juice to make up for the tartness that would have come from the plums.
The second version incorporates a small portion of yellow split peas, in addition to the quince and dried plums, which makes this khoresh even more substantial. Often, you will find two different types of yellow split peas in Middle Eastern markets: “slow-cook” and “quick-cook” varieties. They work equally well, with the slow-cook variety requiring more time to cook.
The Cooking Process
The cooking process begins by browning the lamb until well seared, a step that builds a deep, savory foundation for the braise. Onions are softened and cooked with turmeric before water is added to form the base broth. Meanwhile, the quinces are quartered, cored, and sautéed with tomato paste until both the fruit and paste are lightly caramelized, intensifying the paste’s savory notes. Simmering draws out the quince’s natural pectin, which later thickens into a glossy sauce that clings to the meat and plums. As the braise simmers, the meat turns spoon-tender, the quince softens, and the flavors meld into a rich, balanced stew.
Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari
How to Serve Koresh-e-Beh
Like many other Persian stews, khoresh-e-beh can be made a day or two ahead of time as long as it is reheated gently. In fact, many Persian home cooks (including myself) believe that it tastes better on the second day.
Khoresh-e-beh, like almost all other Persian meat braises, is traditionally served with rice—particularly the Persian steamed rice, chelow—and sometimes with tahdig, a buttery rice dish with a crunchy layer formed at the bottom of the pot. For a more complete meal, khoresh-e-beh and rice are accompanied by one or more of the traditional Persian sides that provide extra crunch to the meal, such as the Persian shirāzi salad, Persian mast-o-khiar, or simply chopped raw red onions.
With its tender meat, soft quince, and rich sauce, khoresh-e-beh is a fragrant dish that captures the essence of fall and remains a timeless comfort at the Persian table.
