Quince jam

[zimbomaman]

Today I made quince jam for the first time following a recipe which included a tablespoon of lemon juice. Four jars are full and I put the tiny leftover portion into an empty glass yoghurt pot. It is now cool so I tasted a little out of the yoghurt pot and it tastes very lemony. Is quince jam meant to taste like this and if not, is there any way I can rescue the batch?

Quinces are quite sharp in flavour. They also have a high pectin level so you didn't really need to add lemon juice. Not sure if you can rescue it.

Thank you JamNan. I've had another little taste this morning now that it has set and the lemon flavour has almost disappeared. Quinces are a new fruit to me having grown up in Africa where papaya and avocados abound. I think that the recipe I followed was from an American website. Shall try again without the lemon juice as still have plenty of fruit left.

I make quince jam & I like the extra tang from lemon juice. Grated lemon rind is nice too. I wouldn't have thought I could taste 1tbsp lemon juice spread over 4 jars of jam. You have very sensitive taste buds!

SeaRabbit, there is a teaspoon of lemon rind in the recipe too. Only ever had sensitive taste buds in the early days of pregnancy . You've got me wondering now.

Sorry to muscle my way in but any change someone could post a nice quince jam recipe pretty please. Have loads of fruit that needs using up. The one I have takes ages to make and would like to try a different one.

Thank you.

This is the recipe I use.

QUINCE JELLY
Makes 4-5 jars

Ingredients
1.8kg quince pieces
800g-1kg white sugar
2 litres water

In a saucepan boil the quince pieces in the water over a high heat, then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer slowly for about 45 minutes- one hour. Mash them. Put the quince in a muslin bag and squeeze out the juice. For every 250ml of juice add 200g of sugar. Cook on a low heat and gradually increase the temperature until boiling, then boil for 25 minutes, or until setting point is reached.

While the jelly is cooking sterilize your jam jars and lids. Then put them in the oven on a low setting. Pot and cover whilst still hot.

It smells divine when it's cooking. You can add allspice or cinnamon if you fancy something a bit more exotic. Or you can mix the quinces with cooking apples. It's nice with cheese or ham too.

from Carolyn Hart The Telegraph.

Thank you JamNan, I'll give your recipe a try. Do you peel the quinces?

No, because it's going to be strained through the jelly bag later although I do give them a good scrub and take out any nasty manky bits on the skin.

I think the skin helps to make the jam go a lovely pink colour.

I've got a quince chutney recipe somewhere if anyone's interested.

Allspice?
I meant star anise.

Great, that's what I thought but best to be clear before going wrong again. Yes please, to your chutney recipe - I have a lot of quinces to get through. The price to pay after taking the children to a pick your own fruit farm recently .

Thanks JamNan, will have a go this weekend!

I made quince jelly last year and it turned out really well. My advice is to strain it really well through muslin so that it is lovely and clear.

This year I made quince jam instead. It looks a bit unappetising (looks a bit like chutney) but tastes lovely. I used a recipe on Nigella's website called Maggie Beer Quince Jam. In the ingredients it lists sugar twice - the first amount is for the first boil and the second amount is for the second boil.

We have some medlars which I think I have to wait for a frost before picking. Not sure what to do with them. Any ideas?

Found it! Sorry it's late.

QUINCE CHUTNEY
3 lbs quinces
¾ lb seedless raisins
2 medium sized onions chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic (I add a bit more)
1 1/2 pints of brown malt vinegar (Sarson's)
1 lb brown sugar
1 dessertspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon of mustard flour (Colman’s)
cayenne pepper to taste

Peel core and slice quinces and stew them to a pulp with vinegar. Then mince the raisins and onions with the garlic and add to the pulp along with the rest of the ingredients, and simmer slowly for two to three hours until the chutney is thick and quince well-cooked. Sterilize your jars and pot the chutney whilst still hot. Cover with wax disc and a lid.

Sorry it’s in old money but this recipe is from a book owned by my late MIL - Good Jams Preserves and Pickles by Ambrose Heath, published in 1947. I have made it and it’s delicious (although sometimes I sneak in some Bramley’s apples), and it lasts very well too. I can't remember how many jars it makes I guess about 5.

whisper There's a recipe for Medlar Jam in the book Ambrose Heath book.

MEDLAR JAM
For each pound of Medlar puree, allow 3/4 lb of sugar and Vanilla of Lemon flavouring.

When the medlars are ripe, take off the skins cut the fruit in pieces and put them in to a saucepan with just enough water to keep from catching on the bottom. Cook them until they are quite soft, stirring all the time, then rub the fruit through a sieve*. weigh this puree and add the sugar in proportion, with either a piece of vanilla pod or the grated rind and juice of lemon to flavour it. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and then cook on until the jam will set.

• I recommend a nylon sieve because some fruit picks up the taste of metal. I'd love to know what it tastes like as I have never made it.

I love quince jelly. I made some, several years ago. Best jam I ever made. I buried one of the fruit that was way too gnarly to use, & dozens of the seeds sprouted. So I might have homegrown quince in a few years.

This might good for Christmas. It would make nice seasonal presents too.

QUINCE & CRANBERRY PRESERVE
Yield approx 4 one-pound jars.

5 quinces
3/4 lb cranberries
3/4 pint water, approx
2 1/2 lbs sugar
Wash, peel and core the quinces and cut them into small pieces. Put them into a saucepan, add sufficient water to cover, bring to boil and simmer until quite soft. Rub them through a sieve, put into a clean pan with the cranberries, then simmer for about 15 mins, until the cranberries are cooked. Add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring meanwhile to prevent burning. Simmer gently 20 mins, then test for jelling. pt cover immediately in the usual way.

Taken from Good Housekeeping James, Preserves and Homemade Sweets, 1969.

Ooh a quince tree in the garden Telephone, I hope they grow. I know of some trees in a hedgerow down a country lane near us. It used to be an orchard and there are about eight ancient trees still producing fruit. I love the smell.

In Spain they make quinces into a really thick sweet paste called membrillo. It tastes really nice with cheese and a glass of one of their 'interesting' liqueurs.

They are growing! I gave the vast majority of the seedlings away - I got literally about a hundred of them that germinated - but kept half a dozen. A couple are about a foot tall now, in pots. (I only have a yard at present.) They've flowered the last 2 summers & produced 1 tiny fruit this year, one of my friends who got 4 seedlings says theirs have been fruiting for 3 years & are 2 feet high as they are in the ground. I am nursing them through each winter, the smell of the fruit when I collected them was divine, it would be worth growing them for that alone. They must be pretty hardy plants though - the seedlings pushed up through 2 inches of snow at the end of a really long hard winter.

A friend gave me about a stone of quinces, I made quince jelly and quince paste (like the Spanish membrillo) from the pulp left in the muslin bag.

You have to push the pulp through a fine sieve to puree it then measure the puree and add abt 12oz to 1 lb of sugar to each pint of puree. Cook it over a low heat until it is VERY thick, with no free liquid left and you can draw a wooden spoon through the mixture and it leaves a path through the middle.

Put into small jars, covet and leave for a few weeks. It's lovely with cheese.

COVER, not covet!
Re medlars, I believe you have to wait until they are very ripe indeed, soft and 'bletted' . i.e spotted and almost over-ripe. (I think that's the term.) Jane Grigson is good on unusual and old varieties like medlars and sorbs.

Nigella gives a recipe for quince vodka but I haven't tried it.
You can also mix them with apples in pies and crumbles but they need to be cooked first.

I definitely want to make quince paste someday. It sounds a lot of work (quince were more work than any other jam or jelly I've made) but so delicious.

Intrigued by medlars.

Here is a picture of my Quince Jelly. Feel quite proud . Thank you for the recipe JamNan. You are right, the smell was wonderful while cooking.

Ohh how lovely zimbomaman