Quince Jelly And Paste Food

EASY MEMBRILLO (SWEET QUINCE PASTE)

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, once the sugar has melted and the mixture begins to bubble, simmer uncovered for an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the candy thermometer reads 220 degrees F. This doesn't always guaranteed it's ready, so at this point also do a plate test to make sure the mixture is done: Spoon a little of the liquid onto a cold plate and wait a couple of minutes. Push the liquid with your finger and if it wrinkles it is ready. If it doesn't, continue to simmer and re-test. The quince will increasingly change into a deep ruby red color.
• Grease a 8x8 inch glass baking dish. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender or blend in a Vitamix or similar until smooth. Pour the hot mixture into the greased baking dish and smooth the top. Let it cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-48 hours until firm. Invert the membrillo / quince paste onto a platter (you may need to gently pry it out with a knife). Note: Some recipes call for placing the membrillo in an oven at low temp (125 degrees F) for 8+ hours to firm it up. This membrillo is already firm and perfectly sliceable. If you prefer it even firmer, proceed with dehydrating it.Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 3 months or longer. For longer storage membrillo can be frozen well-wrapped for up to a year.
• Makes one 8x8 inch square of quince paste.Serve with your cheese & charcuterie board. Traditionally served with manchego but pairs beautifully with most aged, hard cheeses.

QUINCE PASTE

Steps:

• Wash, peel, and core the quinces, reserving the cores and peels. Coarsely chop the flesh and transfer the fruit to a large pan. Wrap the cores and peels in cheesecloth, tie the bag with kitchen string, and add it to the pan. (The peels contain most of the fruit's pectin, which contributes to the firmness of the quince paste.)
• Pour in enough water to cover the quinces and boil, half-covered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the fruit is very soft. Remove the bag of peels and pass the quince flesh through a sieve or food mill. (For best results, don't use a food processor as it will result in too fine a texture.) You should have about 2 1/2 pounds of fruit pulp.
• Transfer the quince pulp to a saucepan and add the sugar (ideally, you should add the same amount of sugar, by weight, as the fruit pulp). Cook and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the paste becomes very thick and has a deep orange color. Draw the wooden spoon along the bottom of the saucepan: it should leave a trail and the quince mixture will stick to the spoon.
• Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or line it with greased parchment paper. Transfer the quince paste to the baking dish, spreading it about 1 1/2-inch thick. Smooth the top and allow it to cool.
• Dry the paste on your lowest oven setting, no more than 125 degrees F (52 degrees C), for about 1 1/2 hours. Allow the quince paste to cool completely before slicing. (In Europe, the traditional method of drying the quince paste is to leave it in a cupboard for about 7 days. The remaining juices will continue to evaporate and render a drier paste.)
• Store quince paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator; the color will deepen with age.

QUINCE JELLY

Steps:

• Sterilize 8 (1/2 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes, and have new lids ready.
• Place the quinces in a large pot, and pour in water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain off 4 cups of the juice. Mix juice with sugar and lemon juice in a heavy pot, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin, and return to a boil. Boil for 1 full minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam. Ladle into hot sterile jars, and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath to seal. Refrigerate jelly after opening.
• Store sealed jars in a cool dark place. Refrigerate jelly after opening.

QUINCE JELLY

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.

QUINCE JELLY

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.

QUINCE JELLY

Steps:

• Firstly, I wash and chop up enough whole quinces to fill my biggest pan, I don't bother weighing them as I am only interested in the amount of juice I have at the end.
• Pour in enough water to cover and boil until soft, approximately 2 hours.
• Pour the whole mixture into a clean, ironed, pillowcase. I iron on a high heat just before I pour in the mixture.
• Here comes the tricky bit, tie the top of the pillowcase with string and then tie the string to an upturned chair. I place a large bowl or pan, big enough to catch all the drips, underneath and place a cloth over the whole thing to keep the flies off. Leave to drip overnight.
• Measure the amount of fluid you have in the pan next day and add 500g of white granulated sugar for each 600ml of juice.
• Throw in a few lemon scented geranium leaves and the juice of one lemon. Boil until it reaches setting point, I find this by spooning some of the juice onto a cooled plate and looking for the wrinkles on top. Don't worry if you get the setting point wrong and you find your jellys not set the next day, just pop it back into the pan and boil again.
• Remove the geranium leaves and spoon off any scum on the top. Pour the, now beautiful red coloured, liquid into sterilized jars. I sterilize mine by boiling them for 10mins and then once filled with the hot liquid, screw the lids (also boiled with the jars) on tightly. I then turn the jars upside down and leave for about an hour before turning them upright again.
• All done, just remember the jelly tastes better if you can leave it for a few weeks.