Spiced Quince Jam
May 16, 2014
Spiced Quince Jam
What a strange fruit quince is! I just tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. A school mum gifted me a bag of them. Quince has the appearance of a knobbly looking yellow apple with the most stunning floral fragrance. It has a strangely tart flavor when eaten raw. The taste is totally at odds with the lovely heady fragrance and a hard almost woody texture…..strange I tell you!
Mr Fresh is a quince fan, it was something his mum cooked when he was a child. The first meal I made with the quince was a slow cooked beef. I added the quince which is said to tenderize meat. It was ok, but not a great dish. I decided to stick to my safe option of making jam.
The jam didn’t develop the divine raspberry color that it is renowned for. In hindsight, I think I needed to cook it for a little longer but the texture was thickening and needed to be removed from the heat. Quince is noted as having a high pectin content.
I suggest that this jam be served with meat or as part of a cheese platter. Mr Fresh has been eating it on toast.
Spiced Quince Jam
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hr
Total Time
2 hr 15 mins
Course:
Condiment
Ingredients
- 2 kgs quince - peeled and chopped
- 3 cups water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 small lemons - juiced
- 1 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 kg Jam Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water
Instructions
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Add all ingredients to a pot except the sugar and orange blossom water
-
Simmer until the water is dissolved and the quince is a pulpy texture ( about 30 minutes)
-
Stir regularly to prevent the fruit from sticking/burning on the bottom of the pan
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Add the sugar and stir to dissolve
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Bring the ingredients to the boil on a high heat
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Continue to cook on a medium-high heat
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Once setting point is reached (or the jam thickens significantly) allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes
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Add the orange blossom water and stir
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Pot into steralised jars
Recipe Notes
I apologise, I did not measure the quantity of jam I potted. It was three medium sized jars.
Have you tried quince? What did you think of it? Have you ever cooked with it?
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I love quinces. We had a tree in our yard growing up and every year my mum would make jam, paste and poached quinces. This year she also made curd. Delicious! Not sure about it in meals though..
A curd is a great idea Claire. I hadn’t thought of that.
Oh I love the addition of orange blossom water in this! Have never made jam with quince but love it with cheese, especially a gooey one like Brie 😉
I have had almost an indifferent relationship with quinces. I had cooked them in meals, stewed them with apples etc and never really been wowed. Then this year I stewed them up with vanilla, maple syrup and spices and made puree. Oh my word that was good. Particularly stirred through porridge. So I have just bought a whole heap more quinces to make a large batch to preserve. I too have had trouble achieving that deep red colour. I do think it needs a significant amount of cooking to achieve it.
Oh Yum, maple syrup certainly makes almost anything taste great 🙂
i’d never eaten quinces until we moved til tasmania; it seems every country or old house has one in their backyard here! i too am in love with their metamorphosis from hard inedible (and bl**dy difficulty to peel!) to frangrant, ruby pink heavenly delight.
mum has a tree and she either cooks them in her pressure cooker, or does them in my slow cooker (hours of perfume throughout the house) – for ‘stewed’ quinces perfect on ice cream or breakfast muesli, or even folding thru a butter cake mix. she also makes a wonderful jelly, with the most wonderful taste, texture (from all the fabulous pectin quinces have) and colour.
can you tell i’m a big quince fan?!
I can, and I can tell why – all of those things sound glorious 🙂
I tried quince for the first time last year – in paste and in a homemade liqueur I bottled. Both were divine. 🙂 I just planted quince cuttings last week and hope very much to have a few quince trees of my own within a few years. 🙂
Oh that would be exciting Krista. I think it is always more satisfying to nurture a plant from seed or cutting and see it grow than it is to buy a larger plant. Fingers crossed for you. It is a gorgeous fruit.
Found your site whilst searching for a yoghurt receipe. Quinces are my favourite fruit. I have 5 trees of them in the garden I love the leaf, the flower, the perfume and the fruit. The deep burgundy colour comes from slower cooking and always leave a core or two in the pot, and remove after cooking. If you cook in the biggest pan you have, you get a shallow liquid over a large surface area. Hope that helps next time .
Great tips, thanks Jen. Thanks for dropping in. K x