Perfumed Quince Jam

Photo: Rita Banci

Ingredients

2 kilograms quince pulp, grated

2 1/2 liters water

2 lemons, juice and zest

kilograms sugar

Preparation

Prepare the grated pulp. Wash the quinces, cut them into halves and then into quarters. Remove the core carefully, because it’s very hard (my husband does this part for me…). Toss the quince quarters into a food processor to grate them or chop them thinly (I suggest you to roughly chop them before placing them in the food processor). You can grate them with a cheese grater, too, but it takes a long time.

Toss the grated quinces in a large saucepan with water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook for about 30 minutes till quinces are soft.

Stir in sugar, letting it dissolve, and cook over a medium heat for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, until you have the right consistency. To know if the setting point is reached, try the wrinkle test: drop a little jam onto a cold (better if previously refrigerated) saucer, wait for the jelly to cool, then tilt the saucer on its side. If the jam doesn’t slide off, but wrinkles on its surface, it is set. Otherwise, a little more cooking is necessary.

Now pour the jam into airtight jars. Cover with lid. To sterilize and vacuum-seal the jars, put them in a saucepan, cover them with cold water and bring to the boil. Let boil for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and let them cool upside-down, so that the lid is sterilized, too. When they get cool, you should hear the vacuum-sealing “click”. Jars are perfectly sterilized and can be stored in a cool and dry place.

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About

Spread on bread slices, fruit preserves are a good way of satisfying children’s hunger once in a while. For this reason alone, if for nothing else, prudent mothers should keep them on hand.’ Thus Pellegrino Artusi wrote in 1881 in the introduction to the Conserva soda di cotogne (Thick Quince Preserves) recipe in his masterpiece cookbook ‘Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well’ (English translation by Murtha Baca and Stephen Sartarelli).

Making jam is indeed the best – if not the commonest – way to cook quinces. Moreover, quince jam is the jam par excellence if you consider that the Portuguese word for this fruit is marmelo, from which the French word marmalade (and the Italian word marmellata) originated.

There are several ways to make quince jam. Traditionally, at least in Italy, quinces are cooked (with their core and skin on) in enough water to cover them. Then the skin and cores are removed, the pulp puréed and the sugar added for cooking. In this version, inspired by Elise Bauer from Simply Recipes, cores are removed beforehand and the pulp (with the skin on) thinly grated. In this case, as the seeds are not present, lemon must be added to provide the right amount of pectin. Quince seeds are actually very high in pectin content, that is why they are employed to make quince jelly.

Personally, I love both the methods: the Italian puréed jam is softer and more delicate, like a cream, while the grated version is more rustic but absolutely delicious. I usually make both the version every year, because I love variety.

Cooking times are pretty long in this recipe because of the high quantity of quinces employed (2 kg). For smaller amounts, times are shorter, so check timing carefully when making the jam.