Some of the quinces picked up a red hue in spots this week. Many have turned mostly yellow. Quinces don't have much of a stem. They grow around the branch, and you can see the indentation of the branch in this one.
I decided to take the plunged and try quince jelly. The quinces on the bush were yellowing and some had a tinge of red to them. I quartered 3 and 1/2 pounds of them and added 7 cups of water. I brought it to a boil and simmered for 30 minutes. I didn't fully read the directions in my Joy of Canning, about making jelly and so I started this project Saturday afternoon, not realizing that I needed to let the juice strain for 3-4 hours and then let it settle 12 hours overnight in the refrigerator for the clearest jelly. I was tempted to skip this step, but decided if I'm going to make the jelly, I'd better do it to the best. After 3 hours of straining, I have about 6 cups of juice. It is a bit cloudy so hopefully the settling process will make it clearer. I mixed a bit of the left over pulp with some sugar to taste. It has a wonderful aroma and flavor. The rest of jelly-making will happen sometime this coming week.
Here's the quince bush, just outside my kitchen windows.
Inside the bush there is a very late blossom (usually it blossoms in spring before the leaves come).
Part 2
2 comments:
I don't think I have ever eaten or even seen a Quince before, what do they taste like?
I made strawberry and raspberry jelly this summer. I used a jelly bag that my mom made up for me. She used a wooden needlepoint ring as the frame then made a bag to fit over it out of muslin and ribbon attached to the frame to hang the bag. It work really well. I can e-mail a photo of it if you are interested in making one.
Thanks Dan, but my system seems to work ok. I use two store-bought jelly bags and place them in a colander to hold the weight. The colander fits over my large 8 cup measuring cup.
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