Quince is quite possibly my favourite fruit. Wonderful and fragrant, a bit sour, and absolutely delicious. They are also fantastic for jams, because of the high pectin content. This jam does require a bit of time and patience, as quinces are rather dry and do not have a lot of liquid. You need to occasionally pour additional water and mix them thoroughly. But even though it requires a bit more work than an average jam, the result is beyond delicious. The jam is a lovely amber colour, rich flavour, with lots of toasted walnuts throughout it. It's not an overly sweet jam, as none of my jams are, therefore it's a great compliment to a cup of tea.
Ingredients:
For the syrup
250 grams granulated sugar
120 ml cold water
For the jam
700 grams quinces, cored and cleaned
750 ml water, divided
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ vanilla bean
300 grams jam sugar (2:1)
200 grams toasted walnuts, finely chopped
Preparation:
Thoroughly wash the quinces, cut them in half and remove the cores and the pips. You need 700 grams of cleaned and prepared quinces. Coarsely grate them and toss them with the cinnamon. Take a heavy-bottomed pot, add the granulated sugar in an even layer, then pour in the 120 ml of cold water. Place the pot over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Let the syrup boil, without stirring, for 9 minutes, then add 250 ml cold water. Let it cook for a minute, then add the quinces, and the beans from a vanilla pod, and mix well. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once it starts to boil, cook the mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
While the jam is cooking, place the walnut pieces on a dry pan and toast them over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until slightly darker in colour and fragrant. Remove them from the heat and coarsely grind them. After the initial 15 minutes of cooking, add another 250 ml of water to the pot with the fruit, mix well and cook for another 15 minutes. Mix the fruit often while it's cooking, to prevent any sticking to the pot or burning. When the jam has slightly thickened, and it's nearly ready, add the final 250 ml of water and cook it for 5 more minutes. Finally, sprinkle in the jam sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for another 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the toasted walnuts. Mix well and pour the jam into sterilized jars. Yields about 500 grams of jam.
