Princess Minces Quinces.....

And turns them into something yummy

Hello Dhaaarlings...

Princess has been at it again...

Turning  fresh... this time.. Quince... Lemons from the tree in my garden and copious amounts of sugar into delicious....


 Quince Jam and Quince Jelly.

Quinces, Lemons and Sugar.

To make the jam 

I chopped up 2kg of fresh quince and and cooked them in the pot with 2 litres of water... until the fruit turned soft and squishy.

Removing the hot fruit from the stove I then put the mix though one of these...

It's a Moulie... which sieves the cooked fruit removing the pips and cores  

allowing the fruit pulp and liquid to be collected in a large bowl underneath.

The juice and pulp was then returned to the pan with the juice of 2-3 lemons and 3 kg of sugar added and dissolved once the mix started to rapidly boil. 

Once the sugar is all dissolved and the pot gets up a rapid boil the heat is turned down and after one and a half hours of a gentle rolling boil you end up with quince jam which can be placed into warmed and sterilized glass jars allowed to cool then sealed.

Quince Jelly

 Is made in a similar fashion using the the same ingredients but using less sugar.

2kg of fruit is chopped into small cubes and boiled with 2 litres of water and the juice of 3 lemons added at the beginning of the process and again the fruit is simmered until it is soft and squishy

Instead of putting the juice and cooked pulp through the moulie the whole mix is poured into a bowl lined with a large piece of muslin cloth. The pulp is then tied into the cloth and suspended over the bowl and hung up to drain... preferably overnight... so as to catch all the lusciously wonderful apricot/ pink juice as it oozes through the cloth into the bowl beneath.

It is really important not to be tempted to squeeze extra juice out of the suspended bag as this will cause pulp to work its way through the cloth which will cause the jelly to become cloudy...

I left the cloth full of pulp hanging over night.

The next step is to measure out the amount of strained juice you have collected overnight, as it is returned to the cooking pot.

Measure out the equivalent amount of sugar Cup for Cup.

Bring the juice to a rapid boil while warming the sugar in the oven ( I whack the bowl of sugar in the microwave oven for about 3 minutes, the heated sugar will dissolve more easily without dropping the temperature of the boiling quince juice.)

Add the warmed sugar slowly to the boiling juice while stirring it vigourously.

The mix will bubble and start to foam once the sugar is dissolved. Allow the rapid boiling to continue for another 5 or so minutes then reduce the heat to a  rolling boil for 20 minutes. 

A white foamy scum will appear around the edge of the pot. Carefully and gently remove this scum using a metal spoon. If the foam scum is mixed through the jelly it will give the jelly a cloudy lumpy appearance.( which is not the look we are going for)

Remove the pot from the heat and then carefully ladle the yummy clear quince jelly into warmed and sterilized glass jars. ( I hold the jar wrapped in a cloth on an angle over the pot with one hand and then ladle the mix into the jar using the other), allow the jars of jelly to cool to room temperature then seal.

Et Voila! Quince Jelly.

Which reminds me... Today I'm looking for 

a Fabulous 

"Quince Jelly" coloured  frock  to wear to the Winter Ball...

Perhaps one of these might suffice...

Have you found your Fabulous Frock Competition Entries?

If you have Dhaaarlings... forward them to Princess...

Our Organising Committee is standing by...ready to sort your mail... 

You have until Midnight Australian EST on Sunday 12th June 

Dhaaarlings....