Autumn and Quince

It is now official - Autumn is my favourite season! The trees are all turning to red and gold and the days are cool and sunny. It's my first Autumn in Tasmania and I think it's grand! Another bonus of this fine season is the Quince. A fruit I was familiar with in name only until my friend generously gave me a bag of this sweet smelling fruit that she had grown in her garden.

I was pretty excited about this as they sounded so exotic. But then I was faced with the challenge of what to do with them! I thought of making quince paste but apparently it is quite time consuming and difficult so I settled on quince jelly. The jelly is like a clear jam that you can have with crusty bread or with cheese like you would quince paste. I always get nervous when I cook something that requires excessive boiling but it really was a doddle!

Quince Jelly

4 Quince

2 lemons

2.5 l water

sugar

Remove the fur from the quince and pour the water into a large pot.

Thinly slice the peel of one lemon and add to the water. Squeeze lemons and add 1/2 cup of juice to the pot. Chop quinces adding everything to the pot including pips and cores.

Place the pan on high heat, bring to the boil, cover, then turn down the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Take off the lid and simmer for 15 mins until the juice turns pink.

Spread a muslin cloth over a colander and suspend over a deep pot. Pour the quinces and juice into the cloth and leave to drain over night.

Don't be tempted to press the quinces to extract more juice as this will turn your liquid cloudy. A good clear liquid is prized by jelly makers and this is obtained by leaving the juice to run its natural course!

Once all the liquid has been extracted measure the liquid then add it to a deep pot and set heat to high. When it comes to the boil add an equal amount of sugar (eg 500ml of juice will need 500g of sugar - you can make it slightly less if you prefer a tart jelly). Stir until disolved. Boil for about 25mins then spoon a small amount onto a saucer to see if the jelly is set. You will need to watch the pot as the vigorous boiling can rise and boil over.

Once the jelly has reached setting point, pour into sterilised jars, cover with a cloth and cool before sealing.