Quince jelly
Raw quince is hard and astringent, but it holds so much natural pectin that the jelly sets by itself, with nothing added. The whole craft is patience: the juice must drip overnight without squeezing, because squeezing the bag turns a clear jelly cloudy.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Chopping the quince 20 min
- Cooking the quince 60 min
- Draining the juice 720 min
- Boiling the jelly 30 min
- Filling the jars 15 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneChop the quince, cores and all
Rub the fuzz off with a cloth, wash and cut the fruit into quarters with skin and cores intact. Do not peel or core — much of the pectin sits in the skin and cores, and without them the jelly sets far less well.
Ingredients: 2000 g quinces · 2000 ml water · 2 pcs lemons
TipQuince is very hard. Use a large heavy knife and cut carefully, pressing with your whole palm.
Simmer for an hour until soft
Cover the quince with water so it is barely submerged, add the halved lemons and simmer 60 minutes until the fruit is completely soft and starting to collapse. The flesh turns pink — a natural tannin reaction.
Ingredients: 2000 g quinces · 2000 ml water · 2 pcs lemons
Quince turns pink as it cooks — that is expected.Drain overnight without squeezing
Tip everything into a muslin bag suspended over a bowl and leave for 12 hours. Do not squeeze or press, however slow it seems — pressed pulp releases particles that cloud the jelly irreversibly.
Ingredients: 2000 g quinces · 2000 ml water · 2 pcs lemons
TipThe pulp and some of the pectin are left in the bag. Remove the lemon halves, push the rest through a sieve and cook with sugar for a second preserve, thick as marmalade.
It drips slowly, and it should — squeezing clouds the jelly.Measure the juice and match the sugar
Measure the volume of juice. Add 750 g of sugar per litre — the ratio matters more than the quantity listed, because quince yield depends on ripeness. 2 kg of quince usually gives 1–1.2 litres of juice.
Ingredients: 800 g sugar · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 pcs vanilla pod
Boil to setting point
Bring the juice to the boil with the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and boil hard for 15–25 minutes, skimming the foam; do the first test after 10 minutes. The jelly is ready when it falls off the spoon in a broad sheet instead of drops, or reaches 105°C. Boiled too long it darkens and sets hard.
Ingredients: 800 g sugar · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 pcs vanilla pod
TipOnce the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring — stirring aerates the jelly and leaves cloudy bubbles in it.
A sheet rather than drops — that is setting point.Pour hot into jars
Remove the spices, skim a final time and pour the boiling jelly into four scalded hot jars (about 250 ml) — cold ones could crack. Screw the lids on tightly. Sealed jars keep in a dark larder for up to a year; keep an opened jar in the fridge.
Ingredients: 800 g sugar · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 pcs vanilla pod
Before you start
If it does not set
Pour it back into the pot, add the juice of one lemon and boil another 10 minutes. Acid activates the pectin, which needs it to bind.
What to serve it with
With aged cheeses, roast game and poultry. Spanish membrillo is a thick paste of sieved quince pulp; the jelly is its clear cousin, made from the juice alone.
Colour
The longer it boils the darker it gets — from amber to deep ruby. A shorter boil gives lighter colour but a weaker set.