Quince Jam Recipes

Steps:

• Wash quince under running water, removing the fuzzy outer layer with a soft sponge or fruit brush.
• Heat water and lemon juice to a simmer in a saucepan. Add quince. Bring to a boil and add sugar and cinnamon stick. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fruit is soft, about 45 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat; discard cinnamon stick. Mix in lemon zest. Pass hot mixture through a sieve into a bowl to create a semi-smooth consistency. Allow to cool and thicken before pouring into sealable jars.

Steps:

• Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.
• Peel and pit quinces. Finely chop fruit. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add water and lemon juice; mix well.
• Stir pectin into prepared fruit in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Steps:

• To make the quince juice, wash & wipe off fuzz from quinces, cut off stem & anything remaining at blossom end and cut into eighths. Do not discard the cores or the seeds as they contain a lot of natural pectin. Place in a large pan and cover with water so the pieces float. Bring to a boil and stir. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally (2 hours will do the trick, but I like to let it simmer for 3, so the fruit is very soft).
• Using a fine sieve, strain the "juice" from the pulp. The "juice" can vary from an actual juice to a thin puree - it depends on if the fruit breaks down or not. Press on the fruit with the back of a large spoon to extract all the juice.If some of the pulp squeezes through the sieve and into the juice that's fine. If you get more than the 6 cups needed for this recipe you can freeze it to use later.
• Place two or three small saucers in the freezer. You will use these later to check the set of the jam.
• In a preserving pan, combine the 6 cups quince juice, juice and zest of the orange and the lemon, spices, & sugar. If you don't have a preserving pan, use the widest pan you have. The wider the pan, the more quickly moisture will evaporate from the mixture, and this is what you want when making jelly or jam.
• Bring to a boil and continue cooking on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, stirring gently. Check the set - it may take up to 40 minutes of simmering over medium high heat for the jelly/jam to reach the set stage - use the cold plate test to check set: take the pot of jam off the heat (if you don't remove the jam from the heat while you check the set, it could over-cook and become rubbery or hard, if the jam is indeed already set) place a drop of the jam mixture on one of the saucers you've kept in the freezer, & place the plate back in the freezer for 1 minute. After 1 minute, take the saucer out of the freezer and nudge the drop of jam with your finger. If it "wrinkles" when you nudge it with your finger it is done. If the jam is not set, continue cooking over medium-high heat, checking the set again every 5 minutes.
• Once the set point is reached, put the jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace; place flat lids and rings on and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.
• Remove cores and blossom and stem ends from unpeeled quinces. Finely chop or grind fruit; place in medium saucepan. Add water. Bring to boil; cover and simmer 15 min. Place three layers of damp cheesecloth or a jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.
• Stir sugar into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Steps:

• Put the quince and lemon peel and juice in a large, deep saucepan. Cover with water (you'll need about 3.2 litres) and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hr 30 mins until the quince is very soft.
• Line a colander with muslin cloth, and put over a very large saucepan or heatproof bowl. Tip the quince into the lined colander, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to strain for 4-8 hrs until all the juice has dripped out. Discard the pulp, then measure out the strained juice and transfer to a large, deep saucepan (the jelly will bubble up high as it cooks). Add 500g sugar for every 600ml juice.
• Bring to the boil over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a rapid bubble and cook until the temperature reaches 105C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange blossom water, if using. Ladle into hot sterilised jars and seal. Will keep in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Steps:

• Wash the quinces, scourer off the down, and then quarter them roughly. Put the cut up quince into a preserving pan with the water and simmer long and slowly until they become soft. It can take over an hour to reduce well.
• Strain through a jelly bag overnight (by jelly bag, I mean a tea towel or very fine sieve - whatever you have at your disposal that fits within that criteria will be fine). Do not force the juice, as it will make it cloudy.
• Measure the juice into the preserving pan, and for each 600 mls of juice add 375g caster sugar. Bring juice to simmering point, add the sugar and the strained lemon juice. Dissolve over a very low heat. Boil fast and begin testing for a set after 10 minutes. When soft set is reached, pour into small, sterislised, hot jars and seal.
• This jelly stiffens during storage, and looks like a ruby jewel in the jar. It is delicious is served with lamb or boiled or baked pork, or simply as jelly with toast and butter for breakfast.