Make Quince Paste

Making George's quince paste was certainly a labour of love! My friend gave me a recipe by Stephanie Alexander which has been successful for her. It turned out well, although I think it probably needs to dry out a bit more. Having laboured over the spitting pot of quince and sugar for 4 hours I am a little over it! It tastes really lovely and apparently keeps indefinitely stored in an airtight tin, so no doubt it will get used over time, especially lovely to take as a gift when invited to someones place for drinks or a meal.

8 Quinces, washed, peeled and (cored) - cut into chunks, placed in a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid with 1 cup of water and juice of one lemon. I did not core them all as it was too much like hard work. It does not seem to matter as the cores and pips boil down to nothing. The pips provide the pectin to make it set so the more the merrier. Cook until tender (about 30mins), let cooked fruit cool and whiz in a blender, weigh the puree and match with 3/4 of its weight with sugar. Return to a wide base pan, cook over a moderate heat, stirring every few minutes until it turns pinky red, about 3-4 hours, or until the paste leaves the sides of the pan. at this point I read my book close to the stove! The mixture should be hard to push around the pot. Allow the mixture to cool a little then pour into a oiled lamington (or sponge roll) tin lined with baking paper. The amount made should fit into this tin. Dry mixture in a warm place for several days or overnight in an oven with the pilot light on. When dry, wrap paste well in baking paper and then in foil. Lovely with a cheese board, and I plan to try it as a glaze for chicken etc. It will keep indefinitely in the fridge if well wrapped.