I am so excited about this Korean-inspired Quince Tea (MoGua) recipe – you cannot even believe it!! We have a beautiful Quince tree in our garden. It gives us shade in the summer and produces about 100 KG of fruit annually. Every year we give it a little prayer when the fruit starts to ripe because it kind of has a split in the middle and the fruits are heavy. I mean bringing down the tree to its knees (ok in this case – the branches to the floor) heavy.
And then, at the end of October, for one weekend, we turn our kitchen into a place of madness. We diligently save up old glasses and try to preserve the quinces in all shapes and forms. It is a weekend where the kitchen looks crazy and heck I look probably just as crazy. You see filled glasses starting to pile up everywhere. At the end of this madness, my husband and I look at each other and wonder why do we do this every year 🤷🏼♀️ (albeit I think we both secretly enjoy it).
What I had not found yet though, is a beautiful, inspired, “special” quince recipe to share with you. And this is where my wonderful friend scooped in and said: “You are doing quinces? I have an awesome recipe”. Turns out, quinces are popular throughout Turkey and Southeast Asia. Quinces are actually an ancient fruit, which is originally from there (and still highly popular). So, I asked her whether I could share the recipe with you and she kindly agreed 🥰. Meet: The Korean-inspired Quince Tea (MoGua).
What are Quinces?
Quinces are a type of fruit, looking similar to apples or pears when you see them hanging on a tree. In fact, they come in two types: Quince apples and quince pears (no joke! 🤣). They ripen relatively late in the year, normally towards the end of October. When ripe, they turn yellow and the fuzz that surrounds the fruit easily comes off (you may be able to see the fuzz in the pictures). Unfortunately, quinces are also a bit of a “devious” fruit. If you are near ripe quinces, they smell so utterly delicious. The aroma evaporates in all directions and it smells like heavily fruit perfume. I took some to my friend in my car and the entire car smelled utterly delicious. However, if you want to take a bite of them – I would advise against it. Quinces are rock solid, hard fruits that taste quite bitter before cooking. They really only become edible once you start turning them into some form of preserve.
Why is this Korean-Inspired Quince Tea (MoGua) good for you?
Koreans often use this tea when they feel that their throat is a bit scratchy and I have to say I am not surprised. The Vitamin C from both the quinces and lemons, paired with anti-inflammatory ginger, and anti-microbial, as well as anti-bacterial honey represents a true powerhouse in terms of immunity. But honestly, it is also super delicious. In fact, I am sipping on some right now whilst writing this 🥰.
There is a sincerely limited list of ingredients this week (quinces, lemons, ginger, and honey). We covered the benefits of ginger in last week’s Chewy Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies. And I possibly talk about lemons every other week 🤣. So I thought I would talk a bit more about honey and all of its amazing health benefits!
Honey
First of all, honey is the only product on this planet that does not have an expiry date attached to it. That, in itself, I already find super cool! Honey is well documented in some of the oldest medicinal literature. It has antimicrobial properties (= it stops microorganisms to grow) and also promotes wound healing. Indeed, you heard (or read 😉) right. If you are cutting yourself whipping up something in the kitchen, put some honey on it. The honey will create an antibacterial barrier, maintains a moist wound for healing, and creates a protective barrier against potential infections.
But honey’s antibacterial properties can reach even further! Natural honey that has not been heated can help combat pathogenic bacteria, as well as oral and some digestive bacteria. Honey is also super-rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help your body to combat free radicals and essentially protect you from diseases. Honey’s medicinal properties have become so popular that an alternative medicine branch has developed called “Apitherapy”. This branch does treatments based on honey (I mean— we are talking about honey 🙃) and other bee pollen products that are meant to treat a range of diseases.
How can I adjust this Korean-Inspired Quince Tea (MoGua) to my dietary requirements?
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free, and paleo-friendly. As honey is made by bees, this recipe is, sadly, not vegan.
There are no progress pictures this week. Truthfully, the kitchen looked a mess and whereas I did try to take some, I forgot to turn off the lights (it was a gloomy day), which turned the pictures slightly yellowish (food photography needs to be conducted in natural light settings). However, you should see from the close-ups, how finely everything has been cut before it literally is pushed into the glass 😂. I hope you fall in love with this tea as much as I did!! Thank you again to my dear friend who kindly provided us the recipe 🥰. Please let me know how you get on, either in the comments below or over Instagram. I cannot wait to hear what you think.
Korean-Inspired Quince Tea (MoGua)
Course: Drinks, after-dinner teaCuisine: KoreanDifficulty: Easy1
jar20
minutesThis beautiful Korean-Inspired Quince Tea (MoGua) is not only an immunity powerhouse, but also super easy to make and utterly delicious. ENJOY!
Ingredients
1 empty glass jar, about 500 gram, with a sealed lid
about 1 large quince (the apple or pear type)
ca. 1 lemon
2 inch pieces of ginger
200 gr. of (locally-sourced) honey
How to
- Start by washing the quince, lemon, and ginger, before finely cutting everything into small pieces
- Wash the glass jar really well before filling it once with boiling water (please be careful with this step) to ensure no bacteria are left in the jar or on the lid
- In the jar, layer first honey before adding quinces, lemon, and ginger. Repeat the process once more until the glass is full. Put the lid on top. You will see water pooling from it fairly quickly (about 10 minutes)
- Put the glass into the fridge and let sit for about 5 -7 days. Once rested, use about two tablespoons of the water (or also add the quince, lemon, and ginger – this truly is personal preference) for each cup of tea. One 500 gram glass jar makes about 7 – 10 teas, depending on how much from the liquid you pour each time. ENJOY!!!!
Notes
- Tip: I would recommend making multiple glasses at once. The amount provided makes about 1 glass jar.
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I can’t wait to make this today. I have been using the leftover quince jam peels and pips to make tea…which is so delicious and naturally sweet enough for me. Is this recipe how Koreans make citron tea? I’ve been wanting to try it but can not locate any fresh citron. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Heide – I am so glad you are excited about this tea!! I am sipping on it daily and it is so, so nice, and agreed, the quince gives it a really nice sweetness . Unfortunately, I am not sure how Koreans make citron tea. Originally, even this recipe is made with sugar (but my Korean friend’s family uses honey – hence why I said “inspired”). I am not sure whether this helps in your hunt for the citron tea (apologies again!) but I wish you all the best of luck. Please let me know how you like the tea!! x
Hi, I can’t wait to try this!. How long do you think it could stay unopened? I would like to give it to a couple of my friends as a gift, but I’m worried it will go bad quickly. Maybe you have tips on how to make it more preserved?
Hi Kamile,
I am so glad you are excited about the tea!! I have to admit that I cannot wait for my quinces to be ripe and do this recipe either .
The tea has lasted about 3 weeks in my fridge. Definitely keep it cold (in the fridge) and try to not have the quinces stick out too much at the top (if something went moldy it tends to be the exposed quince). Hope this helps!! Do let me know how you get on xx Ann
In Iran , we keep the seeds of quince and dried them, when we have dry throat we add few seeds in hot water and honey, it will be a sticky juice which heal the sore throat very quickly.
That sounds like an awesome remedy! Thank you for sharing, I will definitely give this one a try! 🙂 x
Best !!!
Love it !!
Hi there. Can you please clarify about the water ? Is there water in the jar with the other ingredients? If there is water, how much ?
Also. Does the jar have to be hot when putting in the ingredients? My dishwasher has a sanitizing cycle so no need to sanitize the jar with hot water.
It also looks like you leave the skin on the fruit. Is that right ?
Thanks so much for this lovely healing recipe 🙂
Hi Szilvi,
If you have a sanitizing cycle on your dishwasher, that is fine. The hot water is simply to kill off any bacteria, you can do this whichever way you like. I do leave the skin on the fruit (less time in the kitchen ). As it does not go into the tea, I do not find it makes a difference. There is no need for additional water to be added to the jar. The honey will draw liquid from the quince, ginger, and lemon.
I hope this helps. All the best with the recipe! The tea truly is fantastic and delicious! Ann x
Can you use regular apples instead of quince?:) how long does it keep in the fridge? Thanks:)♡
Hi Victoria,
I have no idea whethe
Hi Victoria,
I have no idea whether this would work with apples too 🙁 I am sorry. If you try it out and it works, please let me know! The tea keeps in the fridge for about 2 weeks usually.
Good luck!! Ann x
I’ve not tried this yet, but I watch Korean dramas and when they mentioned Quince tea of course I had to search Pinterest and found your recipe! I definitely plan to try this as winter is coming up so it’ll be a great way to fight off colds or flu.
Tina – that sounds so wonderful!! Thank you your kind words and ENJOY the recipe! Ann xx
Hello Ann, I’m about ready to make the recipe and was wondering what ca. stands for when you mention “ca. 1 lemon” in the recipe.
Hi Tina – you layer the quince, lemon, and ginger. One glass (depending on your size) will likely need about 1 lemon. It could be a bit more. I tend to find that you end up making more glasses (at least 3-4) anyways in one go. Hope that helps! Have fun!! Ann xx