Quince Cordial

Or How Not To Make Quince Jelly...

Last week I awoke from my morning slumber to find over a kilo of quince sitting on the door mat.

One of my neighbours volunteers for an organic fruit & veg collective, KBHFF. Each week they're issued with up to 8kg of random foodstuffs. Not knowing what to do with her share, Peniila very kindly donated the fruit to New Utility.

Quince is a very old fruit. Luminous yellow in colour, in shape they resemble a small hard pear. Actually a member of the rose family, quince give off a wonderful perfume. However, their hardness means quince are a trifle labour intensive to prepare - requiring a boil to soften up. 

It is worth it. They have a fantastic rich, rosy, piquant flavour and, in my view, it is a shame they are not more popular.

Naturally high in pectin, quinces are perfect for jam & jelly making. In boiling the peeled and cored fruit for the former you're obviously left over with some cooking liquor. It is the liquid from this "first boil" that is used to make the latter. In theory.

Looks like Quince Jelly, actually isn't.

Ingredients:

2 measures (by quantity, not weight) of left over liquid form boiling the quince.

1 measure sugar (by quantity, not weight).

Lemon juice.

Procedure:

In a heavy pan add the sugar to the liquid.

Heat up until boiling, stirring frequently so the sugar dissolves and does not stick to the bottom.

Boil over a high heat for approx 30 mins until the liquid melds in to a syrup. Quantity will reduce by roughly half.

Pour in to sterilised jars and leave to cool before sealing. The jelly will set as it cools.

Pretty straightforward I hear you say. Indeed, I've made quince jelly before with complete success following the exact procedure above. However, this time around I could not get the stuff to properly meld, and therefore properly set. I was essentially left with a litre of loose syrup. If anyone has any ideas as to why I'd be glad to hear them.

Not a chap to be defeated, I decanted said liquid in to spare bottle and intend to use the stuff as cordial. Early thinking is that I might try a Quince Gimlet, or "Quinclet."

What I ended up with...

The jam phase of operations was however an unqualified success, on which more soon.