The season of quince jelly

Even though the flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) that thrives near our espaliered apple trees isn't a true quince (Cydonia oblonga), it still proffers up a small basketful of tart fruit every autumn—made all the better for a touch of frost. Since we don't use any pesticides on them, we simply cut them up and toss them into the steam juicer.
The resulting juice is neither abundant nor delicious (think in terms of a dissolved aspirin tablet); but when mixed with some cane sugar to taste, (no pectin is necessary, since these quinces are practically pure pectin!) and placed in a preheated 350 degree oven, until it becomes very syrupy—it make an exquisite jelly. As it cools, it will thicken thoroughly--if not, it makes marvelous pancake syrup. Though it only produces about a pint or two of jelly, any effort is worth its tangy richness on fat slices of five-strand braided bread (instructions for making these braids will appear in a future Journal), still warm from the oven.
(The Chaenomeles japonica, pictured above right, was cut from our garden and painted by Elspeth in one of the panels in our front entry. The design for the entryway, and all of Elspeth's botanicals featured there are included in the 2004 Autumn issue of the Journal featuring Manzoni's epic Italian novel, I Promessi Sposi.)

Tags: 2010, Recipes by Nancy Young