Quince and Orange Jam
This homemade quince jam has a delicious, slightly caramelized old-fashioned taste and is made just like our grandmothers did: without pectin.
Vegan and gluten-free jam.
I just want to say that this was my first homemade jam and after enjoying its goodness and experiencing how easy it is to prepare, …..I won’t stop anymoreeeee, I already have in mind to buy another bigger pot to make it in industrial quantities!!
I absolutely recommend trying it, you won’t regret it! Ideal to spread on pancakes.
If you are looking for ideas for a healthy homemade breakfast, click on my Special. “Pantry Sweets“.
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My TOP recipes
Desserts with APPLES and/or FRUIT
Jam Desserts
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 4 jars of 12 oz
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
INGREDIENTS for Quince and Orange Jam
For 4 sterilized jars of 12 oz:
- 12 oz quinces (about two quinces)
- 18 oz oranges (about 3)
- 7 oz Golden Delicious apples (or Renetta)
- 3 lemons
- 2 lbs brown sugar (light, I use Demerara)
Tools
- Pot Agnelli, hand-tinned copper
- Blender Braun 1000 W power
- Chopper
- Juicer Magimix Juice Expert 3
- Cheesecloth food-grade
- Jars with screw cap
Preparation for Quince and Orange Jam
Preheat the oven to 338°F static (or 302°F fan). Remove and discard the ends from the oranges, then place the fruit in a rather small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil.
Cover the saucepan and simmer the oranges for 1.5 hours (or until soft) until the peel can be pierced with a small sharp knife. Drain the oranges from the pan, reserving the cooking liquid.
When cool enough to handle, cut each quarter of oranges, aiming for slices of 1/8-1/4 inch (DO NOT peel) and set aside.
Halve and core the quince (DO NOT peel), then cut into large slices and place in a baking tray.
Peel and core the Golden apple (or Renetta), cut into pieces and add to the baking tray.
The apples should not be overlapped, but all should fit in the tray in a single layer.
Then add 10 oz of water to the tray, and then bake uncovered for about 2 hours or until the quince is tender
Once the apples are cooked, puree the apples in a food processor (please note, the quince should NOT be peeled even after cooking) if there is any liquid left in the tray, add it to the puree, if not, add a tablespoon of water.
Transfer the orange slices and apple puree to a non-stick saucepan.
Squeeze the lemons (retain the peels) and pour the juice into a measuring jug. Add the saved orange cooking liquid to the lemon juice, bringing the total amount to 25 oz (add water if necessary to reach the right amount of liquid). Add the liquid mixture to the saucepan with the sugar.
Roughly chop the lemon peels with the chopper and wrap them in a square formed with two layers of cheesecloth (or muslin).
Gather the ends of the cheesecloth to form a bag, twisting the top and tying it with string. Leave one end long enough to tie the bag to the handle of the pot so that it is always immersed in the liquid (see photo below)
This cheesecloth bag is essential because it acts as a thickener for the jam, effectively replacing the pectin with the lemon peel.
Heat the jam over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring the jam to a boil.
Boil the jam for 20 minutes (it took me 30 minutes from the time it started boiling over medium heat) or until it has reached the right consistency. To see if the jam has reached the right density, you can do the “plate test (which I explain further down in the “Tips”).
I don’t really like feeling pieces of peel in the jam, so I blended everything (but that obviously depends on your tastes).
Transfer the cooked and slightly cooled jam into hot sterilized jars (as I explain among the Tips below) while they’re still hot, to avoid a thermal shock that could break the glass jar, seal with the sterilized lid, and let cool upside down. Then, once cooled, store the jars in the refrigerator.
You can use this jam as you like: spread on toast, cookies, rusks, pancakes, fill desserts or crepes, etc.
Notes and Tips
For the jam I used light brown sugar (which can be found in supermarkets, organic stores, and herbalists);
For the “plate test“: place a plate in the freezer and when you think the jam has reached the right consistency, pour a teaspoon of boiling jam on the cold plate, tilting the plate vertically the mixture SHOULD NOT slide off immediately, but move slowly, HERE the video.
You can sterilize the jam jars in various ways (to delve deeper into the topic of homemade jams read HERE): Get glass jars with airtight lids, preferably screw-top. You can also reuse old jars taking care to purchase new lids. Sterilize them by boiling in water for 30 minutes, alternatively in the oven at 266°F for the same time or putting them in the microwave slightly damp for 40 seconds (I sterilized them in the dishwasher). Take them out and pour the hot jam, clean the edges from any residues and close with the lid. Turn the jar upside down so that the hot jam further sterilizes both the jar and the lid and let it cool. The drop in temperature creates a vacuum effect that will preserve the preparation for several months. Store the jars at room temperature in a dry place and, once opened, in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
Shopping Tips !!!
I quickly obtained the lemon juice with my Magimix Juice Expert 3, a multifunction food machine to best enjoy fruits and vegetables, it acts both as a juice extractor and as an automatic citrus juicer, and is useful for preparing tomato sauces, jams, or smoothies, even plant-based drinks like almond and coconut milk at home. With its various patented exclusive technologies, juice expert allows you to cold-extract all the benefits of fruits and vegetables (extracts up to 96% of juice, up to 85% of vitamins and 95% of antioxidants). Very easy to clean, either under running water or in the dishwasher. You can find it at a special price on Amazon with a great price-quality ratio, ideal as a gift or to gift yourself for Christmas.
To cook the jam, I used this hand-tinned copper saucepan (copper is one of the best heat conductors, for significant energy savings thanks to its high heat-conducting capacity; excellent resistance to impact, thermal shock, abrasion, and corrosion) at a special price on Amazon.
If you want to make little gifts with the jam, I recommend this set of 10 glass jars with screw lid.
To chop the lemon peels I used the handy accessory mini chopper of my Braun MultiQuick 7, 1000 W power, which you can purchase at a special price on Amazon.
Read my review for GialloZafferano on the Minipimer “Braun MQ9045 MultiQuick 9” .
You can purchase all the items I recommend here above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the relevant links.
