 To
make quince jam, chop and simmer quinces in crockpot, with or without
seeds as desired. Strain the pulp and save for making syrup, simmer the
liquid some more if it is too liquid, add sugar and boil until it
reaches setting point.
Quince Jam Recipe
1.)
Wash fruit, remove stems and chop into pieces.
Remove
seeds, label
them and save them to trade. Or if
the seeds are
surrounded by pectin, you can put them in a small
cheesecloth or muslin bag, tie tightly and put in with the fruit while
cooking to get the pectin out.
2.)
Put chopped quince pieces in water with a couple drops of
lemon juice (lemon not necessary when using
Japonica
quince or greenish fruit).
3.) Add or subtract water so that water covers
fruit.
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5.)
Pour cooked fruit
into cotton flannel jelly bag or 4 layers
of cheesecloth - muslin
secured to top of large bowl with clothes pins/pegs. (A clean, boiled
pillow case hung from the ceiling will do.)
6.) Drain for several hours or overnight.
(If you squeeze the bag you will
get more
jelly/jam; if you don't squeeze you will get a prettier, clear jam.
Your call.)
7.)
Pour liquid into a meauring jug, make a note of the amount. Pour sugar into the measuring
jug up to
about 2/3 of the line where
the liquid had been, or about 4 cups quince juice to 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar..
8.) Pour liquid and sugar into saucepan and stir
in.
[Optional.
Add lemon juice. Advantage:
makes the jelly set easier. Disadvantage: tastes like lemon juice.
Again, it's your call. How much? About a teaspoon
per liter or quart. Me? I make it without the
lemon juice and if it doesn't set, I add lemon juice and boil again,
but I almost always have some under-ripe Japonica in the mix so it
usually sets without lemon juice. You are less likely to need lemon
juice if you are using Japonica or greenish quince, or if you
add
apples to the original chopped fruit. ]
9.)
Bring to boil and boil for about 5 -15 minutes or until jelly reaches
set point. (See below for how to test jelly for set point.)
10.) Pour into clear glass jars to store on shelf, or
plastic
containers to store in freezer.
Testing
Jelly For Set Point
 Frozen plate
method
Have a ceramic plate in
the freezer.
As jelly boils, put a drop
of the liquid on the frozen plate to see if it sets
Temperature Test
Take the temperature of
the jelly with a candy or jelly thermometer. It should be 220°F
which is 8°F above the boiling point of water at sea level. For
each 500 feet of altitude above sea level, subtract 1 degree F.
To Re-Use Pulp
after
making first jam
Apple-Quince
Jam Recipe:
Add water to cover the pulp and
re-cook
and strain as for jam. Peel some apples, core and cut pulp into chunks.
Put quince liquid and apple pieces into blender, puree. Measure and add
about 1/2 that amount of sugar. Put into saucepan and boil for 5 -15
minutes.
Make
a
syrup:
Add water to cover the pulp and
simmer
overnight on low heat or in a slow cooker. Strain as for jam.
Add its amount in sugar
and boil for 10 minutes. Use to sweeten tea or mixed half and half with
liquor or wine to make a sweet liqueur.
Make
Jell-O
or jelly gelatine mold
Take 1 cup of syrup made as per above, add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup
water. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and then slowly add gelatine
mixing continuously. When all gelatin/gelatine has been added and
stirred until smooth, pour into a jello/jelly mold and put in
fridge until set. To remove from mold, dip mold quickly into and out of
a pan of boiling water and then turn mold over onto a plate.
Make
quince
honey:
Add water to cover the pulp and
re-cook
and strain as for jam. Do not squeeze bag. Add
sugar 3 times the
amount of liquid, bring to a boil and then simmer until the consistency
of honey. Quince
Honey
Home
brew
quince soda pop:
Make syrup as above. See Quince
Soda Pop for brewing
instructions.
Make
wine:
Add water to cover the pulp and
simmer
overnight on low heat or in a slow cooker. Strain as for jam. Add
sugar equal in bulk to
1/3 the amount of liquid and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved.
Let cool. Add yeast
starter and pour into bottles
or
other container. Cover with an airlock. After a month, pour liquid off
the sediment into bottles and cap. Leave for at least another 2 months
or until it becomes clear, but a year is better.
My Jelly Won't Set
What can I
do?
Add a
commercial pectin and re-boil for 5 -15 minutes.
Add
more
lemon juice and re-boil for
5 -15 minutes.
If
you are working
with a large quantity of liquid, try using a smaller quantity
at
a time in a smaller cooking pot, ie, a liter/quart of liquid in a
2-liter/quart saucepan. (Something about temperature,
heat dispersal and mass/surface area ratio.)
If all else fails:
Peel a few apples, core and cut out pulp. Add cleaned apple pulp to
unset jelly and put through blender. Boil as for jam above. You will
lose the crystal-clear jewel-like appearance so prized by quince jelly
makers, but you will have a very good but murky-colored quince jam (the
quince flavor will overwhelm the apple flavor).
Keep
it unset
to use as cooking sauce. Add to apple pie to improve flavor, mix with
ketchup for barbecue sauce, be creative. See Things
to do with unset jam for more
suggestions.
I
only have a few quinces -- can I extend them with apples?
Yes.
You can double the amount of quince
with apples and have little or no discernable difference in flavor. Use
proportionately less sugar. You will also be less likely to need lemon
juice or commercial pectin to make it set.
How can I tell if my quinces are ripe?
Ripeness
isn't a major issue with cooking
quince. Quince are at their best, for jam-making purposes, when they
are slightly under-ripe, when the pectin content is highest. A simple
guideline is: when the first quince falls off the tree of its own
accord, all the other fruit that have some yellow in them are probably
ready to pick. In some cold countries, quince will not ripen (turn
completely yellow) at all, but will all fall off the tree while they
still have some green in them, and these will still make an excellent
jam.
I
can't make jelly right now. Can I store the quinces?
Yes.
Put them in the vegetable
crisper/bottom drawer of the refrigerator. They should keep 3-4 weeks,
but check every few days to remove any that may become
rotten. Or
you can wrap them individually in a sheet of newspaper and put them in
a cool, dry place where animals can't get at them, such as hanging from
the rafters in the garage in the autumn, for as long as it doesn't
freeze. Both the strained liquid and the retained quince pulp can be
frozen.
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