Quince

Once the quince (Cydonia oblonga) was a highly sought-after fruit - today it is one of the forgotten fruit varieties around which legends have been woven. Thus many people think that the quince is a mixture of apple and pear. Although there are so-called apple quinces and pear quinces, these designations only refer to the respective shape.

The hearty bite into a fresh quince has probably often led to the fruit being banned from the menu immediately. Of the approximately 200 varieties of quince, only very few are edible in their raw state, such as the honey quince variety. Normally the bright yellow skin and also the flesh are extremely hard. Another special characteristic of the quince is the felted fluff on the skin, which tastes very bitter and therefore has to be removed.

So if you are now ready to get to know the quince a little better, you will soon realize that it is a real treasure both in the kitchen and in natural medicine.

Quince jelly:

ingredients

   2 kg quince
   2 Lemon, squeeze juice
   2 kg gelling sugar 1:1
   2 vanilla beans

Wash and grate the quinces thoroughly, remove the stalk and flower and dice them with the skin and core. Place in a pot and cover with 1.5 litres of water. Add the lemon juice and bring to the boil. Cook for about 45 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.

Then lay a large sieve with a damp cloth, place it on a large pot, pour in the food and let the juice drain overnight. If possible, do not express, the juice remains clear.

The next day, measure the juice in the measuring cup, pour it back into the pot and mix with just under the same amount of jam sugar (may be about 200 g less). Cut the vanilla pods lengthwise and scrape out the pulp. Then cut in half crosswise and add to the quince juice together with the vanilla pulp. Bring to the boil while stirring continuously and allow to boil for approx. 4 minutes until bubbly (perform a gelling test).