Quince Jam

Quinces

I'm writing while the jam is cooking, so I can't give a something good rating yet. Even if none of us like it, I wanted to post on it because I had never seen a quince until about a week ago when a friend gave me a bag of them. They look a little bit like a pear but shorter. When raw, quinces are very hard and tart, but they soften when cooked. They also are supposed to turn rosy colored when cooked (still waiting to find out if that will happen). Surprisingly, there are a lot of recipes out there using this unusual fruit. I decided to make jam with mine. My friendly fellow kitchen experimenting neighbor, Jen, also received the gift of quinces and also planned on making jam--great for me because she did hers first, so I was able to change my ratios based on how hers turned out. I looked at about five different recipes, and this is what I came up with.

Quince Jam
6 cups chopped quinces
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• Wash the quinces to remove any dirt and the fuzzy layer on the peel.
• Remove the cores, and chop into small pieces (I used the food processor).
• Add the lemon juice as you go to prevent over browning.
• In a large pot, heat the water. 
• Add the chopped quinces, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and bring to a boil.
• Simmer until rosy and thickened (mine took over an hour and was sort of orange).
• Puree with a blender to smooth out any large pieces.
• Transfer jam into sterilized jars, wipe the rims, put on the lids and rings, water bath for 10 minutes.

Bread with Quince Jam

 The little guy and I like the quince jam. No one else would give it a try. The whole house smelled like potpourri while it was cooking. Definitely something interesting. :)