I adore quince. They sound magical and nostalgic, like Christmas goose, sugar plums, and other lovely English things. And they smell so wonderful - like a combination of apple, pear, and pineapple. They can't be eaten raw, but they make a delicious and gorgeous jelly. I made some for the first time last year, and it was the first thing on my list to make this year. I'm feeling quite a bit better, and making the jelly was actually a great thing to do, since I got to stand still in a very steamy kitchen. I was worn out afterward, but quince wait for no man - they needed to be preserved, and quickly!
Here's how it's done:
After delighting in the amazing scent of the quince sitting in your kitchen, wash and quarter them.
Boil, covered by about an inch of water, for an hour or so, until soft.
Tie up in cheesecloth bags or proper jelly bags, and leave overnight to drip into a bowl. (Edited to add: don't squeeze any juice out, or your jelly will be cloudy!)
Measure the juice you have, and add in almost a cup of sugar per cup of juice. Just over 3/4 of a cup for each. I mix mine together and let them sit for a few minutes while I do something else, so the sugar will dissolve really well.
Slowly bring to a boil, and boil until it will set on a cold plate. This took quite awhile; at least 45 minutes, and probably more for the 8 cups of juice plus the sugar that I had. I kind of lost track as I was making two things at once. (Edited to add: 1 tsp of butter added in will keep the foaming down. Worked like magic!)
Seal in sterilized jars, and just be happy looking at it. Isn't it the most gorgeous red?
Add some
cute labels, and you're good to go!
With the other quince that I quartered and cooked (I had 12 pounds total), I made a quince paste. I took the cooked quince, ran them through a food mill, mixed with an equal weight of sugar, and cooked it down until it was really thick, and canned it. I can't wait to have this on homemade crackers with some gorgeous local cheese. Or with pork. Yum.
