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Marmelade of Quinces



Recipe by Daniel Myers

This recipe is very easy, but it is also very time consuming. All said, I think it's well worth it. You can spread the work out over a couple of days by baking the quince and refrigerating it, leaving the simmering for the next day.


Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs. quince (about 6)
2 1/2 lbs. sugar (5 cups)
2 cups water



Method

Peel and core quinces. Cut them into small (less than 1/2 inch) pieces and put them in an oven-safe baking dish along with the water and half the sugar. Cover and bake at 350° until soft - about an hour and a half. Drain, keeping the liquid, and mash the quince. Then put the liquid, quince pulp, and remaining sugar into a large pan and bring to a low boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes very thick. You should be able to scrape the spoon across the pan and be able to see the bottom. Ladle into wide-mouth jars and let cool. It should set more firmly than jello.



To make rough red marmelade of Quinces. Take Quinces and pare them, cut them in small peces from the coare, then take as much sugar as the peces doe waye, and put the Quinces beinge cutt into an erthen pott and put halfe the sugar that you waied into the pott and as much water as will couer them, then sett them into an ouen with howsholde breade. then when they are paked poore them into a postnett or preseruinge pan and put the rest of the sugar to it, then bruse them with the back of a spoone, then boyle them with sturringe till it will come cleane from the bottome of the pan then boxe it.

Marmalade of Quinces, red. To make red Marmalade of Quinces, take a pound of Quinces and cut them in half, and take out the cores, and pare them; then take a pound of Sugar, and a quart of fair water, and put them all into a pan, and let them boyl with a soft fire, and sometimes turn and keep them covered with a pewter dish, so that the steam or air may come a little out: the longer they are in boyling, the better colour they will have: and when they be soft take a Knife, and cut them cross upon the top, it will make the syrup go through that they may be all of the like colour: then set a little of your syrup to cool, and when it beginneth to be thick, then break your Quinces with a slice or spoon, so small as you can in the pan, and then strew a little fine Sugar in your boxes bottom, and so put it up.


Published: 2004-08-06