Quince Preserve for the Pantry
An amber jam of quinces cooked slowly with sugar, which sets naturally thanks to the fruit's pectin. Poured hot into jars and turned upside down to keep for months.
An amber jam of quinces cooked slowly with sugar, which sets naturally thanks to the fruit's pectin. Poured hot into jars and turned upside down to keep for months.
In autumn, when the market was full of fuzzy quinces, I'd bring home a full basket. It's a thankless fruit to peel, hard as wood, but what a perfume as soon as it heats up! I cook it a long time, until the flesh turns pink then amber, and it sets all by itself, without adding anything. I fill my jars piping hot, turn them upside down, and I'm set for winter: you're never short of something to top your toast when you've made your reserves.
- •Quinces — a full basket (fruit)
- •Sugar — equal weight of cooked fruit (preservation, sweetness)
- •Water — for first cooking (cooking)
- •Lemon — 1 (acidity, setting)
Quince Preserve for the Pantry
An amber jam of quinces cooked slowly with sugar, which sets naturally thanks to the fruit's pectin. Poured hot into jars and turned upside down to keep for months.
Why this dish? The 1950s housewife put autumn into jars to get through winter; quince jam, fragrant and firm, was one of those proudly stored in the sideboard 'to have a head start' and to top toast all year round.
In autumn, when the market was full of fuzzy quinces, I'd bring home a full basket. It's a thankless fruit to peel, hard as wood, but what a perfume as soon as it heats up! I cook it a long time, until the flesh turns pink then amber, and it sets all by itself, without adding anything. I fill my jars piping hot, turn them upside down, and I'm set for winter: you're never short of something to top your toast when you've made your reserves.
Ingredients (period version)
- Quinces — a full basket (fruit)
- Sugar — equal weight of cooked fruit (preservation, sweetness)
- Water — for first cooking (cooking)
- Lemon — 1 (acidity, setting)
Ingredients
- Quinces — 1 kg (peeled flesh) (fruit)
- Granulated sugar — 750 g (preservation, sweetness)
- Water — 500 ml (cooking)
- Lemon juice — 1 lemon (acidity, setting)
Method
- Peel the quinces, remove the cores, and cut the flesh into pieces (reserve seeds and peels in a muslin bag, rich in pectin).
- Cook the pieces in water with the muslin bag for 30 minutes until tender.
- Remove the muslin bag, add the sugar and lemon juice.
- Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the jam coats the spoon and turns pink.
- Pour boiling into sterilized jars, seal, and turn upside down until cool.
How it was made : The quince, very rich in pectin, sets into jelly or jam without added gelling agent — hence its ancient popularity for quince paste (cotignac) and preserves, long before modern 'special jam' sugars.
The contemporary twist : A vanilla pod or cinnamon stick during cooking, and a few jars given as gifts with a handwritten label, in the old-fashioned way.
Dominique Lemor · Charactorium