Grandma’s recipe: quince jam, a somewhat forgotten fruit that naturally appears with irregular shapes resembling a pear, with a sour taste that is not very pleasant to enjoy. However, it becomes a real delicacy once transformed into jam or preserves, a perfect recipe to enjoy with slices of bread, toast, or fill simple sweet puff pastry turnovers.
Where to buy quinces? It is true, they are not easy to find, although the quince is one of the oldest fruit trees in the world (it was already cultivated in 2000 BC by the Babylonians and Greeks) today quinces are not widespread, so to find them you have to resort to some farms, a well-stocked greengrocer or, as in my case, be lucky enough to have the tree in the garden.
Let’s see right away how to prepare this sweet quince jam by following the recipe in each step. If desired, you can flavor it with cinnamon or ginger. Meanwhile, start sterilizing the jars because today they will be filled for the winter!
TRY ALSO:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: About 26 oz.
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
- Energy 338.75 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 90.46 (g) of which sugars 69.74 (g)
- Proteins 0.57 (g)
- Fat 0.14 (g) of which saturated 0.01 (g)of which unsaturated 0.12 (g)
- Fibers 2.80 (g)
- Sodium 6.63 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs quinces (net of waste)
- 2.5 cups sugar
- 0.4 cup water
- 2 lemons (unwaxed)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Tools
To puree the jam, you can use a food mill or an immersion blender. I preferred the first.
- Saucepan
- Food Mill
Recipe
Important: quinces are cooked with the peel because it is rich in pectin, which is very useful for making our jam thick.
Before starting the jam preparation, remember to sterilize the jars to be filled later with the preserve made.
Wash the quinces very well, then with a cloth, rub the peel carefully to remove the fuzz from the fruit. Cut them into 4 wedges, remove the core, and any damaged parts, and cut them into pieces, which you will place one by one in a bowl with acidulated water with the juice of one lemon.
Once all are cut, drain them from the water and place them in a saucepan along with half a glass of water, the peel, and the juice of one lemon. Cook until they break down, about 10-15 minutes.
Now add the sugar and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. You will see that the quinces will release their natural juice.
Pass them through the food mill or blend them with the immersion blender (I preferred the first), add a heaping teaspoon of ground cinnamon (optional), and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the right consistency is reached.
How to understand if the jam is ready: To be sure that the jam has the right consistency, put a little on a plate; if it remains compact and slides slowly when tilting the plate, it means the jam is ready. If the pulp separates from the watery part, it needs to be cooked longer.
You can decide to use cane sugar instead of granulated sugar. The result will be a denser jam, with less yield and a much more amber color. It remains, in any case, very sweet and spreadable.
Look at the photo below the difference between the jam prepared with cane sugar (the darker one on the left) and the one with granulated sugar (the lighter one on the right).
Here is your quince jam ready, a delicacy that, once placed in jars, you can enjoy all winter long. For correct conservation, I prefer to refer you to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health reported at the end of the recipe. A fragrant jam ideal for filling cakes, cookies or simply to consume at breakfast with golden toast or at snack time on a nice slice of bread.
Storage and tips
Storage: quince jam keeps for 4-5 days when stored in the fridge.
If you prepare vacuum-sealed jars, consume them within 3 months and remember to follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Health for proper preparation of preserves.
Tips: If you want to make jam to store it longer, cook it for at least 1 hour with the sugar and also increase the amount of sugar; in fact, to prevent jams from molding, in addition to a longer cooking time, it is necessary to add the right amount of sugar (700-800 g. per kg of fruit).
You can use granulated sugar or cane sugar, and if you like, you can flavor it with ground cinnamon or ginger.
Remember that quinces are cooked without removing the peel.
