1kg quince -scrubbed. (NZ Nut Products/Ettrick Gardens)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
600 ml water
Approx. 450gram sugar
Roughly chop quince and put into a large heavy based pot with 600ml water, add the lemon juice & mix through. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. When the fruit is soft, crush it with a potato masher or fork until it is a soft, syrup pulp, and let it cool.
Sieve the pulp in batches over a large clean bowl. Pressing the pulp hard against the sieve with a wooden spoon. This is hard work but worth the effort, extract as much purée as possible. Measure the purée for every 450 ml of purée using 450grams of sugar. Put the purée and sugar back into the pot and stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then heat down and simmer gently for 45-60 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t burn. The purée will reduce and become orange in colour, glossy and very thick. It is ready when it makes a “plopping” sound and sticks to the wooden spoon.
You will need 6 sterilized ramekins, light grease them. Spoon in the paste to the top and flatten out. Seal with wax paper and I use a large chopping board to sit on the top. Let them cool for a few hours and then remove from the ramekins and wrap in wax paper. Leave them to mature for 4-6 weeks in a cool dark place. Serve on a cheese board with Whitestone & Evansdale Cheeses!
Recipe by: Amy Dougherty
