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Quince Jelly and Nut Sandwich
Mix a cupful of quince jelly with half a cupful of finely chopped hickory or pecan nuts and spread on thin slices of lightly buttered white bread. Cover with another slice and cut in squares.
A three-ingredient sandwich that depends entirely on the stiffness of the jelly and the thinness of the bread. A few notes on both.
- Quince jelly consistencyCommercial quince jelly and Spanish membrillo paste are not interchangeable here. Jelly spreads and stays put; membrillo is dense enough to tear thin bread and should be sliced thin and laid on instead of spread.
- If quince is unavailableQuince jelly is a supermarket rarity in much of the US but is stocked by Latin, Middle Eastern and Portuguese grocers. Crab apple jelly is the nearest substitute in tartness and set.
- Hickory nutsShagbark hickory was a commonly gathered nut in the period and is now sold mostly by specialty growers. Pecans, which the book offers as the alternative, are the practical choice; toast them lightly and cool before chopping.
- Butter the bread first, and thoroughlyThe thin butter layer is not for flavor. It seals the crumb so the jelly does not soak through and make the bread limp before serving.
- BreadThe book says only 'thin slices'; about 1/4 inch from a close-grained white sandwich loaf is a workable reading. Chilling the loaf for half an hour makes slicing that thin much easier.
- YieldA cup of jelly and half a cup of nuts is enough for six to eight sandwiches or more, depending on how thickly it is spread; quartered, that gives roughly 24 to 32 small squares. Trim crusts before cutting if serving at tea.
- Holding timeAssemble no more than an hour ahead and keep under a barely damp towel. The nuts stay crisp for a while, but the jelly will eventually wet the crumb.
Sandwich books proliferated in the United States between about 1900 and 1920, when afternoon tea, card parties and club luncheons created demand for small, sweet, hand-held food that a household cook could produce without a range. The sweet chapters of these books lean heavily on preserves and nuts because both kept well in a pantry, and quince was still a common orchard fruit and a home-preserving staple: high in pectin, it sets firmly without added gelatin, which is precisely what a sandwich filling needs. Hickory nuts appear alongside pecans in American cookbooks of the period, and in much of the East and Midwest they were gathered rather than bought; their near-disappearance from recipes since is usually attributed to the difficulty of shelling them commercially.