A Trio of Quinces

     This year has been a motherlode for quinces.  I have found a source for free quinces via a friend of a friend, and lucky me.  This might be my new favorite fall fruit.  But there is a problem:  Who knows what to do with them?
     Quince: much more a European fruit, in it's traditions, I think.  It's from the rose family, and appears to be more of a cross between apple and pear.  The taste, raw, is terribly astringent, and I don't know of anyone who tries to eat it this way.  No, it's cooked and in doing so, magically transformed into a lovely light pink, with a beautiful almost perfumed aroma.  The taste is more tart than pear, but not really like apple.  I guess we could say it tastes like quince, but that would be annoying.  ( I recall having moose for the first time in my early 20's.  The cut or the preparation is not on a par with how my sister prepares this meat, and I recall thinking that it tasted just like I would think moose would smell. Which while not profound, seems to mimic this situation somewhat)
     While there are certainly recipes for this fruit, found on the internet, it seems a bit on the under published side.  I will attribute this to the aforementioned lack of familiarity in some areas.  Indeed, I don't believe it is really grown commercially in this part of the world.  Rather, it is found in back yards of homes where a prior owner was intrepid.  This results in lucky strikes for someone like me who is just getting her feet wet with preparing this item.  I am considering going back for more.
    To that end, and because I had somewhere just short of 40lbs in a box, I found and made 3 different recipes.  These are adaptations of recipes from different sources:  one from Food and Wine, one from Sunset, and one is an adaptation of a pear jam recipe that I have made from a cookbook by Edon Waycott.   I canned all 3, even though the first 2 recipes don't speak to that.  That is the unknown factor, but I am not afraid.
     This fruit is a hard one to love.  It peels easily enough, but the inside is quite hard, and thus has the hallmark of a potential laceration or worse if handled without some caution.  Consider yourself forewarned.  Not everything can hand itself to you with ease.   I am sure there is an appropriate metaphor out there somewhere.

               

Spice Pickled Quinces

adapted from Sunset

makes 4 pints

1 cup each sugar and apple cider vinegar

4 large strips of orange zest

6 cloves

1 tsp peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks

3 bay leaves

2 lbs quinces (4-6, depending on size)

Bring 3 c. water, and all ingredients except the quinces to a simmer in a large pot.  

While this is heating, peel, core and cut the quinces into eighths.  Add to pot. 

Maintain heat to that there is a slow simmer, and cook thusly until fruit is tender when pierced, approximately 30 minutes.

Transfer the fruit with a slotted spoon to pint jars, and then spoon in the syrup with some of the spices to each jar.  

At this point, either cover cool and chill at least 1 day, or:  seal with new lids and can in a hot water bath x 20 min. 

Quince and Cranberry Compote

adapted from Food and Wine

makes 4 pints

1 c sugar

1 c water

1/2 t kosher salt

3 cinnamon sticks

4-6 quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks

4 apples, preferably fairly sweet ones, like Gala, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 c. cranberries, fresh or frozen

2 T honey

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

Bring sugar, water, salt and cinnamon to a boil.  Add the prepared quince, and cook about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and cook another 5 minutes, until fruit is tender but not broken down.  

At this point, you can serve it as is (FW used it as a topping for pancakes), or:  spoon into jars, seal with new lids and can in a hot water bath x 20 minutes

Vanilla Quince Jam

adapted from Preserving the Taste by Edon Waycott

Makes approximately 9-10 1/2 pint jars

5 lbs quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 1" chunks

3 c sugar

2 vanilla beans, cut down the middle lengthwise

Place all ingredients in a large pot, and bring to a boil.  Cook at a slow simmer until the fruit has broken down, approx 30-45 minutes.  Remove the vanilla beans, and puree with a stick blender until you have a coarse mix, with some chunks remaining.  The overall texture is up to you.   Taste to make sure it is sweet enough.  Scrape the inside of the vanilla beans and add to the pot.  

Spoon into 1/2 pint jars, seal with new lids and can in a hot water bath x 5-10 minutes.