Kotonjata or kotonjada is a sweet dish that is traditionally prepared during autumn, when fragrant quinces ripen and it's time to harvest them, but this dessert is traditionally on the Christmas table in South Dalmatia, but also in Dalmatia. In addition to quinces being stored in the rooms of the home to fill the air with their fragrance, various delicious desserts were also prepared from freshly picked and preferably oblong quinces. One of them is exactly kotonjata, kotanjada or quince cheese as it is also called.
In Dubrovnik, this dessert is called kotonjata and is traditionally prepared for Christmas. The Dubrovnik kotonjata is a sought-after dessert during the winter holidays, and its preparation requires a lot of time, but the result is worth the effort in the end. Prepared for a long time and patiently, according to the traditional recipe, kotonjata is an excellent dessert that the housewives proudly presented to the family and dear guests on bay leaves.
This traditional dessert is prepared from cleaned quinces that have been cooked whole in a covered pot full of water, until they soften. After that, they would be cleaned of seeds from the center when cooled, and their meat would be pureed. An equal amount of sugar was then added to the quinces and everything was gradually heated together over low heat. The rind of a local lemon was added to the mixture, and everything was cooked with constant stirring.
When the mixture was thickened enough to see the bottom of the pot while mixing, squeezed lemon juice would be added to it. The resulting mixture would be poured into a long, narrow and heated mold and left first at room temperature and then in a cool place to harden. The cocoon, which had cooled and squeezed well, was removed from the mold by inverting it and left to air dry for a few days before being cut into slices.
Cotton balls cut in this way would be rolled in crystal sugar or put in a box among fresh bay leaves, because they kept the sweets from ants. Given that cotton candy is a dessert that can be kept for a long time, housewives would know how to add additional ingredients such as crunchy almonds or walnuts to make it even richer, and it would be on the table served with a glass of good sparkling wine or dessert prosecco.
For all those who have not tried this dessert or are far from Dubrovnik, luckily today we have virtual markets, so we too found our Dubrovnik Christmas kotnjata on the Facebook group Virtual Dubrovnik Market at LINK.
