It is a firm, sticky, sweet reddish hard paste made of the quince (Cydonia oblonga) fruit.

After leaving it to set for a few days on earthenware/clay bowls (preferable), topped with parchment paper rounds, it becomes a relatively firm quince paste/cheese, dense enough to hold its shape.

[citation needed] The pastafrola, a sweet tart common in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, is usually filled with quince paste.

[9] In May 2022, a variety of quince cheese known as Marmelada de Santa Luzia was recognized as an Immaterial Cultural Heritage of the Brazilian state of Goiás.

In Serbia, especially Vojvodina, all of Hungary, and continental Croatia, i.e., Slavonija quince cheese is an often prepared sweet and is named kitn(i)kes, derived from German "Quittenkäse".

[citation needed] Quince cheese, a New England specialty[2] of the 18th century, required all-day boiling to achieve a solidified state, similar to the French cotignac.

In Hungary, quince cheese is called birsalmasajt,[15] and is prepared with small amounts of lemon zest, cinnamon or cloves and often with peeled walnut inside.

Péter Melius Juhász, the Hungarian botanist, mentioned quince cheese as early as 1578 as a fruit preparation with medical benefits.