Quince Jelly (Carne de Membrillo)
- 3 kg, weighed after peeling and removing the stem ends Quince (or "membrillo" in Spanish)
- 1 1/5 kg Sugar
- 2 Lemon (optional)
- Preparing the quince is rather hard work.
- So, I recommend making no more than about 3 kg of fruit at a time.
- That should be about 5 kg before peeling.
- Wash the quince well.
- Rub the fine downy fuzz off of the surface.
- To prepare the quince: Put the quince and water in a large pot.
- Bring to a boil and cook the quince until they are tender.
- Note: It's best to immerse the quince completely in water.
- I had too many fruit in the photo, so I boiled them with the lid on, and shifted the fruit on top around to cook them through.
- Take the fruit out of the hot water and let them cool down.
- Peel them and remove the stem ends.
- Roughly chop up the fruit and place them in another pot or in a storage container.
- (You don't have to peel the quince in advance.
- If you boil the quince until they are falling apart, then the skin and the outer part of the flesh can be removed together.)
- When the fruit has been processed, weigh it out.
- Calculate 40% of that weight and that will be the amount of sugar to use.
- (You can increase or decrease the amount to taste.)
- Mash the fruit using a hand-held blender or similar device.
- Put the mashed fruit in a pot.
- Note: If there's a lot of fruit, it can be difficult to work with, so I recommend mashing it up in the pot first.
- If you can mash it about 80% of the way, by the time it simmers and reduces it should have just the right consistency.
- Add the lemon juice and sugar to the pot, and start cooking over low-medium heat.
- Simmer and reduce slowly while mixing.
- Be careful not to burn yourself.
- You may get burned if the contents of the pot splatter, so don't leave the pot unattended for too long.
- Stir while simmering and reduce it over low-medium heat.
- Note: If you see any impurities while you're simmering the pulp, remove them with a spoon.
- While you're simmering the pulp, spread a sheet of parchment paper on a flat container (such as an oven baking tray), lining it right up to the edges.
- When the pulp turns orange, remove from heat.
- Pour the pulp into the prepared tray.
- Be careful not to burn yourself.
- I cooked 3.5 kg of fruit (after peeling) for a bit more than 2 hours.
- As shown in the Step 11 photo, the volume has reduced by about 10%.
- Note: This version doesn't have a lot of sugar, so it won't turn brown like commercially sold quince jelly.
- Dry the jelly in a cool location out of direct sunlight.
- (If you use 40% sugar, this takes 5 days to a week.)
- Slice into pieces.
- Wrap each piece in plastic.
- Freeze to store for a long period.
- Refrigerate any pieces you're going to eat it right away.
- Note: The top surface should be firm and the bottom surface still soft right after you finish drying.
- If you wrap the pieces up and store them with the firm side down, the texture will gradually even out.
- Note: Of course, you can flip them over, peel off the paper and dry the other side too.
- You can dry the fruit even further to turn it into a moist dried-fruit type dessert.
- Note: The step-by-step photos show 3.5 kg worth of fruit pulp.
- I had 7 kg of fruit pulp in the Step 1 photo, so that may give you an idea of the total weight.
- Slice thinly and serve with fresh (un-aged) cheese or on bread.
- You can also serve it on its own, of course.
peeling, sugar, lemon
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/150191-quince-jelly-carne-de-membrillo (may not work)