Quinces: Anyone know about making quince jelly please?

champys · 1 October 2008 at 9:23PM

Try stewed quince - we have a quince tree and it is one of my favourites. Peel & core them, cut them into quarters and put in a thick-bottomed pan. Sprinkle with sugar and add water so they are in 'to their ankles'. You can add a piece of lemon peel and a piece of cinnamon stick if you like. Then cook, very slowly, until they are soft and coloured dark orange/red.
Leave them to cool and have them chilled for pudding with some cream or Greek yoghurt. They freeze perfectly too.

Barneysmom · 1 October 2008 at 9:36PM

That sounds delicious champys, thank you! :beer:

A runcible spoon?
They dined on mince and slices of quince
which they ate with a runcible spoon :T :T :T :T :T

I love that story!

thriftlady_2 · 2 October 2008 at 7:28AM

Lots about quinces here I recommend the vodka or add to apple pies and crumbles. A puree of quinces is lovely with natural yogurt.

Muppet81 · 11 October 2008 at 2:36PM

I have been given a big bag of quince but they are very small (just a bit bigger than a plum) and very green.

A few years ago I was given some which seemed to be a bit larger and more yellow, so I think riper. I made some lovely jam with these but the job of quartering, coring and peeling them was a nightmare and i cut my hands to shreds. They were tough little blighter!

Does anyone have any recipe for using them whole and then straining the result?

I would hate to waste them but don't think peeling, coring ect is an option as there would be nothing left!

Pink. · 11 October 2008 at 4:28PM

Hi Muppet81,

I think you should be able to make a jelly out of them without coring and peeling them. There's some information on how to go about it on this thread so I've added your post to it.

Pink

spiddy100 · 13 October 2010 at 2:16PM

Hello OSers

I'm in the middle of making quince jelly, only my second attempt (last year's was tasty though a bit soft).

I used about 1.2kg of quinces, have boiled up and strained for 24 hours. I only have about 800ml of juice - I'd expected more as about 20 quinces went into the pan.

Any idea how much jam this will make? Is it worth trying to water the juice down a bit? I simmered the fruit for about 3 hours, and it looked on the dry side when I took it off the heat, so am wondering if it would be OK to water it down a little.

Any advice from experienced jam makers would be very helpful

I can't remember anything about making it last year! Thank you.

Primrose · 13 October 2010 at 3:41PM

I've previously made Japonica (Caenomales) Jelly (from the hard yellow fruits which have quite a heady perfume). They're quite different from the tree fruits which are much larger and more pear shaped. Japonica quinces are very hard, even when ripe which is when they've turned yellow. I wouldn't worry about your end product. It looks fine to me.
The first time I made Japonica jelly I expected it to be light coloured but it turned out very thick (almost thick enough to slice) and was quite dark in colour. However, it had a delicious fragrance and we used it up with cold meats, etc. I'm sure if you wanted something a little different you could try mixing 50/50 with some apples, but make sure they're fairly juicy ones like Bramleys which cook down into a mush and produce plenty of juice. This should give you a lighter set than using 100% chaenomales fruits.

spiddy100 · 14 October 2010 at 12:03PM

Thanks Primrose, these are definitely the perfumed fruit which grow on a bush. I think I may end up with a smaller amount of firm, rich jelly rather than lots of it, but it is all a learning experience I suppose

We all love the flavour so it will all be appreciated!

Tightwadways · 25 October 2010 at 2:35PM

A big thumbs up for this thread! I was given 3 bag fulls of quinces from a kind freecycler....now about to start stewing some, slow cooking some for afters with ice cream...and on payday will be stocking up with vodka

) Great addition to the hampers this year!!

thriftlady_2 · 5 November 2010 at 11:42AM

I had a very heavy crop of quinces this year. I have made; quince jelly, quince vodka, quince pickle, quince and pumpkin chutney, quince cheese, quince tarte tatin, quince upside down cake and cooked a lot for the freezer.

Quince Jelly by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Quince cheese by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Quince Tarte Tatin by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Quince pickle by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Making quince vodka by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Quince Upside Down Cake by The Quince Tree, on Flickr

Quince and Pumpkin Chutney by The Quince Tree, on Flickr