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To Preserve Quinces
Mrs. W. Arthurs.
Pare, core, and quarter a peck of quinces, then weigh them; put the parings, cores, and seeds into a preserving kettle, cover them with water, and boil slowly for twenty minutes; then strain them, put the water back, and put in the quinces, a few at a time, and simmer them gently until tender, say five to ten minutes; lay them on a dish; when all are done add the sugar and a little warm water. Let them boil for a few minutes until clear, then put in all the quinces and boil them without stirring until they become a clear garnet, which will be about one hour. Have ready two lemons sliced thin and seeds taken out; put them in a few minutes before taking off the fire.
A weighed-fruit preserve of the old school: the recipe tells you to weigh the prepared quinces but never states the sugar, because the ratio was assumed. A few conversions and one clarification make it workable.
- The missing sugar"Add the sugar" almost certainly means sugar equal in weight to the pared, cored fruit — pound-for-pound was the usual preserve ratio, which is why the fruit is weighed. Slightly less (about three-quarters by weight) will still set, since quinces are high in pectin.
- A peckA peck of quinces is roughly 10-12 lb whole, which will yield perhaps 7-9 lb once pared and cored. That is a very large batch by modern standards; a quarter of it is more manageable and cooks more evenly.
- Preserving kettleA wide, heavy, unlined copper or enamelled pan. Any broad heavy-bottomed pot works; width matters more than depth because evaporation is what concentrates the syrup.
- Do not skip the paringsThe skins, cores and seeds are richer in pectin than the flesh, and the twenty-minute infusion helps the finished syrup jell and carries quince flavour into it.
- Tender in five to ten minutesOptimistic for hard fruit. Quinces vary enormously; poach them until a skewer passes without resistance, which can take 20 minutes or more for a dense late-season fruit.
- The garnet colourQuince flesh is cream-coloured raw and turns pink to deep red as the tannins oxidise and caramelise during long cooking. The hour of boiling is for colour and set, not for tenderness, so resist cutting it short.
- Lemons at the endSliced lemon added in the last few minutes brightens the syrup and adds acid without breaking down to bitterness. Remove the slices before potting if you prefer, or leave them in as candied peel.
- Keeping itThe original assumes crocks in a cold larder and gives no sealing instructions. For shelf storage, follow current water-bath canning guidance for fruit preserves; otherwise treat it as a refrigerator preserve and use within a few weeks.
Quinces were a fixture of nineteenth-century North American kitchen gardens partly because they are unrewarding raw — hard and astringent, and best eaten cooked with sugar — and because their high pectin content made them a reliable setter in an era before commercial pectin was sold. Community cookbooks like The Home Cook Book, compiled from contributed recipes by Toronto ladies in 1877 and widely imitated, are full of them: quince marmalade, quince jelly, quince honey. The attribution to Mrs. W. Arthurs is typical of the genre, where recipes carried the name of the household that vouched for them. The instruction to boil the parings first reflects cooks' practical experience that the discarded parts of the quince gave the best set.