madbaker | Twofer fer mah toof

This week's Resolution Recipe, part one: Quince Jelly.

1300 g quinces (about 4 large)
6 cups water
1300 g sugar

Wash the quinces and cut off the stems, leaving the peels on. Chop around the cores and discard them; cut the fruit into 6-8 pieces. Place in a large pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and simmer (covered) until the fruit is mushy-soft, about an hour.

Mash the cooked quince with a potato masher. The consistency should be like a soupy applesauce; it it is on the dry side, add a bit of water. Place in a mesh strainer lined with a double layer of fine cheesecloth. Leave for 2 hours.

There should be at least 4 cups of juice. If you aren't getting much, stir into the mash and press out; do not stir water into the juice directly. Reserve the mash for quince paste. Measure the juice and pour into a large pot. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar per cup of juice. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir occasionally after that until the gel point. (Bubbles cover the surface of the boiling jelly and start to climb up the sides of the pot. When you dip a spoon in, the liquid jelly will run together and "sheet" off the spoon. Test via the wrinkle test: have a small plate in the freezer. Place a small amount of jelly on the plate and return to the freezer for 1 minute. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, it is done.)

Meanwhile, sterilize canning jars (this quantity makes ~3 pints) and lids. Ladle in, leaving 1/2" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes if desired.

What worked: I've had some problems the last couple years making Cotignac; it wasn't aromatic or gelatinous the way my magical first batch was. Apparently that's because I didn't let the quinces get ripe enough. Bringing these home from the market, the entire car smelled like quince. This batch of jelly is deep red and quite thick. It's delicious and has more layers of flavor than just sweet (which is my main objection to most jellies; I prefer jams.)

What didn't: Coring these was... challenging. The quinces have varying densities and the knife kept bouncing off the flesh. I sliced my finger and thumb webbing four times. Not seriously, but enough to bleed and be annoying.

Will I make it again? I may well. I prefer cotignac to quince paste, and we don't really need any more jelly. However... I have five pounds of quinces from our CSA farmer to use.

Part two: Cotognata (Quince Paste)

Quince mash
Equal weight sugar

Puree the mash in a fud processor or run through a food mill. Weigh the puree and add it to a pot with the sugar. Cook over low heat until very thick, approximately 1.5 hours. Stir constantly at first to dissolve the sugar, frequently after that. When it is done the quince paste will stick to a wooden spoon, and if you drag the spoon over the bottom of the pot it will leave a trail that does not immediately fill in. Be careful at the end to stir often so as not to let it burn.

Lightly grease a 9" square baking dish. Spread the paste in the dish, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. It should be about 1.5" thick. Let it cool in the dish. Dry the paste in a 125 F oven for eight hours. The surface should be glossy and not sticky to the touch. Put into the fridge, uncovered, for 4 hours.

Run a knife around the edges of the paste and invert onto a plate. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge.

What worked: It was pretty good. I still like Cotignac better with its spices, though.

What didn't: It took longer to cook; I might have over-compensated on the heat and using a simmer mat. We also ended up cooking it for about four hours longer. And yet... the bottom of the paste was still a bit mooshy, so I probably should have cooked it longer.

Will I make it again? Not this year, but maybe. I'm thinking the next batch of quinces will make quince butter instead.