Quinces, Preserved
INGREDIENTS.-Quinces, sugar, water.
QUIN'S SAUCE.
Pare and quarter the fruit, then boil in enough water to keep the pieces whole.
When they are tender take them out, and to every pound of quince add the same of white sugar. Let them stand with the sugar on until the next day, when the syrup should be as clear as amber; then put them in the pan and boil for 20 minutes more. They may be coloured with a little cochineal. The water in which they were boiled may be made into a jelly with the parings, adding a pound of sugar to each pint of juice, and boiling for 1/2 an hour.
TIME.-3 hours.
SEASONABLE in August, September and October.
Quin's Sauce. (An Excellent Fish Sauce.) - INGREDIENTS. pint of walnut pickle, 1/2 pint of port wine, 1 pint of mushroom ketchup, 1 dozen anchovies, 1 dozen shalots, 1/4 pint of soy, 1/2 teaspoonful of cayenne.
Put all the ingredients into a saucepan, having pre sously chopped the shalots and anchovies very small; simmer for 15 minutes, strain, and, when cold, bottle off for use; the corks should be well sealed to exclude the air.
TIME.- hour.
SEASONABLE at any time. "Right royal fare Lay ready there, Old England's prime roast beef."-- RABBIT, BOILED.
A two-stage preserve: whole quince quarters candied in a heavy syrup, with a jelly made afterwards from the cooking water and the parings. The hinge is the overnight rest, which draws sugar into the fruit slowly so the pieces stay intact instead of collapsing.
- Quantities are by weightEqual weights sugar and prepared fruit, so 2 lb of peeled and quartered quince takes 2 lb of sugar. For the jelly, 1 lb sugar to each pint (imperial, 20 fl oz) of strained juice.
- Choosing the fruitUse quinces that have turned from green to deep yellow and smell strongly floral. Rock-hard and still green, they will not soften in any reasonable time; bruised or brown-spotted, they turn muddy in syrup.
- "Enough water to keep the pieces whole"Most likely barely covering them, so they poach rather than tumble about. A wide pan in a single layer, with a round of parchment pressed on top, keeps them submerged without stirring.
- First boilTender means a skewer slides in with slight resistance; the recipe gives no separate time for this stage, so judge by feel. Save every drop of the cooking liquid: the recipe turns it, with the parings, into the jelly.
- The overnight standSugar on the drained fruit, covered, at room temperature. By morning the sugar has dissolved into a syrup the colour of amber, and this is the step the 20-minute finish depends on. Do not shorten it.
- The total timeThe stated three hours covers active cooking only and takes no account of the overnight rest; allow two days from start to sealed jar.
- CochinealSold now as carmine or cochineal extract, and rarely needed here: quince flesh turns rose to brick red on its own during slow cooking, from the fruit's tannins. Give it longer over low heat rather than adding colour.
- The jelly from the paringsSimmer parings and cores in the reserved water 20-30 minutes, strain through a jelly bag without squeezing, then boil with sugar. Half an hour is a guide; test for a set on a chilled plate, or stop at 220F.
- Yield and keepingKeeping -- The sugar concentration is high enough for a shelf-stable preserve, but current practice is to fill hot sterilised jars and process them in a boiling water bath rather than seal and hope.
Quinces were a staple of the English preserving cupboard long before they became a curiosity: too hard and astringent to eat raw, they are almost pure pectin and perfume once cooked, and the word marmalade comes from marmelo, the Portuguese for quince, which is what the earliest marmalades were made from. Mrs Beeton's household would have expected a jar of quince in some form every autumn, and the thrift of this entry is characteristic of the book: the fruit becomes a dessert preserve, the parings and cores that would otherwise go to the pig become jelly for the breakfast table.