There is no denying that winter is around the corner! The dark, ever shorter days, the cold, bone chilling north winds and the canvass of nature’s pointillist painting disappearing with every wind storm makes winter’s arrival undeniable.
But that’s not the worst of it! I have continued my routine of making jam several evenings a week in a valiant effort to keep our shelves stocked with good, old fashioned delicious jams and jellies for the Pantry Shed. There is nothing left in the cold storage that I can jam (except for apples…look out for a mulled cider jelly coming soon!) and my freezer backstop of berries is also becoming dangerously depleted!
Enter a knight (or would that be damsel?) in shining armour — Dori Andrewes, a fellow jammin’ maniac and the genius behind YUM Farmhouse Fresh jams and jellies. Dori arrived one evening with a bushel’s worth of good old fashioned quince! Hallelujah! Now I have a motherlode of inspiration for several pots of jam ahead of me.
Not many people are familiar with quince since it really isn’t grown commerically in this area. It’s subject to among other things, fireblight (which has claimed the pears along our “dusty laneway”). The odd garden may have a quince tree or bush (pyrus cydonia) and if you have one, grab those quince and bring them in the house ASAP. Quince is one of the earliest known fruits — medieval in look (think old hand etched botanicals or etchings of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden). It’s a relative of the apple and pear and belongs to the pome family. Golden yellow, woolly, gnarly and oh, so fragrant!! My entire house is sweetly scented by the few quince I have set out in a bowl. It’s almost floral.
In its raw form quince is unpalatable — tart and extremely grainy — like the texture of a very unripe Bosc pear! But…when cooked and turned into golden jam or deep rose almost purple jelly…mmmmm! It’s almost tropical in taste! I have made a vanilla scented jam and a jelly which is scented with a hint of star anise. These items are a gourmet food lovers delight and are often seen accompanying artisanal cheese or pâtés. My mother spoke of having a quince “jellies” as a little child in Budapest. She remembers it as very special treat — a little orange cube, rolled in coarse sugar and served with a fresh walnut on top. I did a little research and found that this is common in France, Spain and Latin America — known as cotignac or membrillo. I am going to take a stab at making some this weekend.
In mythology, the quince was associated with Aphrodite and many believe that the golden apple given to her by Paris was a quince. So it is no wonder that this glorious, mysterious and old-fashioned fruit has become known as the “fruit of love, marriage & fertility” in many cultures. I’ll let you know how it works for me! So far no Prince Charming at my door but…many lovely jars of quince goodness on The Good Earth shelves and more to come! That jam pot is EXTREMELY fertile!
In the meantime, back to the jam pot. Here is a little verse to enjoy from Edward Lear’s “Owl and the Pussycat”…
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon.