Following on from yesterdays blog,the flesh of the quinces is in one pan with a half dozen Japanese quince for the fragrance,the peels and cores (minus seeds) are in another pan with half a dozen Japanese quince for jelly.
They have been simmering in enough water to cover them for the past hour,not bad going considering it is only 6am now.
I have kept the seeds from the 'proper' quinces,I am going to attempt to grow them.
10 years ago
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2 comments:
Membrillo! well, la di da, posh chick!
My granny used to make quince jely, and my mum and I still do it her way. It's nectar when it's done, nothing in the world tastes like it, on crusty white bread and butter. And it's so pretty, clearr amber in the jars. in the jars.
This is how we make it, it's not a recipe, just how she did it.
You wash and quarter the quince but don't peel or core them. You put them in a big pan with enough water to make them float, or abut a pint per pound if you're a measurer. You bring it to the boil, then simmer until the quince are nice and soft.The then drain the friut into a bowl through a piece of muslim or a sieve. Let it drain slowly, don't be tempted to hurry it up by giving it a squeeze or you'll make the jelly cloudy.
Put the liquid in a pan with about a pound of sugar to a pint of juice . Simmer for about twenty minutes or until it's rached 'set' You test this by putting a teaspoonful on a cold saucer and pushing it with your finger. If the surface goes wrinkly, it's ready. Pour into clean, hot jars and seal.
You didn't throw the pulp away, did you? You take the cores and skin out of the pulp, then mash it with an equal amount of caster sugar. Then spread it as thinly as you can on a baking sheet and put it in the airing cupboard to dry out. The you cut it into squares and store it in waxed paper. She called it candied quince, I don't know if it's got a real name. It will keep for a year, or at least until Christmas. I'm not keen myself, too sweet.
It's very hard to get real quince now, I paid a fortune in the Farmers Market.
I do much the same as you Seaside,only the other way round....
Membrillo is like a fruit cheese only thicker,so you can set it in a tray and slice it,all the peels and cores make the jelly along with any bits from the membrillo that I don't want in.
As for measurements and set,I have a fool-proof method for testing for pectin before the sugar is added(the science bit),I have been making jams and jellies etc every year for as long as I can remember,so no real measuring goes on,then after adding sugar I whack a sugar thermometer in and wait.........although generally if you do something often enough you don't need the thermometer or to test the set,I have quite often done it by eye.I will blog the pectin test and the science of why white fleshed quince make such a perfect shade of jelly in the next few days.
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