Take large, yellow, ripe quinces, and having washed and wiped them,
pare them, and extract the cores. Quarter the quinces, or cut them into
slices half an inch thick, and lay them in scalding water (closely
covered) and boil them till tender--lest they harden in the sugar. Put
the parings, cores, and seeds into a preserving kettle, cover them
with the water in which you coddled the quinces, and boil them an hour,
keeping them closely covered all the time. To every pint of this liquor
allow a pound of loaf-sugar; and having dissolved the sugar in it, put
it over the fire in the preserving kettle. Boil it up and skim it, and
when the scum has ceased rising, put in the quinces, and boil them
till they are red, tender, and clear all through, but not till they
break. Keep the kettle closely covered while the quinces are in it, if
you wish to have them bright coloured. You may improve the colour by
boiling with them a little cochineal sifted through a muslin rag.
When they are done, take them out, spread them on large dishes to cool,
and then put them into glasses. Give the syrup another boil up, and it
will be like a fine jelly. Pour it hot over the quinces, and when cold,
cover the jars, pasting paper round the covers.
TO PRESERVE QUINCES WHOLE.--Take those that are large, smooth, and
yellow; pare them and extract the cores, carefully removing all the
blemishes. Boil the quinces in a close kettle with the cores and
parings, in sufficient water to cover them. In half an hour take them
out, spread them to cool, and add to the cores and parings some small
inferior quinces cut in quarters, but not pared or cored; and pour in
some more water, just enough to boil them. Cover the pan, and let them
simmer for an hour. Then take it off, strain the liquid, measure it,
and to each quart allow a pound of loaf-sugar. Put the sugar to melt in
the liquid, and let it set all night. Next day boil the quinces in it
for a quarter of an hour, and then take them out and cool them, saving
the syrup. On the following day repeat the same; and the fourth day
add a quarter of a pound more sugar to each pint of the syrup, and boil
the quinces in it twelve minutes. If by this time they are not tender,
bright, and transparent all through, repeat the boiling.
When they are quite done, put quince jelly or marmalade into the holes
from whence you took the cores; put the quinces into glass jars and
pour the syrup over them. If convenient, it is a very nice way to put
up each quince in a separate tumbler.
QUINCE JELLY.--Take fine ripe yellow quinces, wash them and remove all
the blemishes. Cut them in pieces, but do not pare or core them. Put
them into a preserving-pan with clear spring water. If you are obliged
to use river water, filter it first; allowing one pint to twelve
large quinces. Boil them gently till they are all soft and broken.
Then put them into a jelly-bag, and do not squeeze it till after the
clear liquid has ceased running. Of this you must make the best jelly,
allowing to each pint a pound of loaf-sugar. Having dissolved the sugar
in the liquid, boil them together about twenty minutes, or till you
have a thick jelly.
In the mean time squeeze out all that is left in the bag. It will not
be clear, but you can make of it a very good jelly for common purposes.
QUINCE MARMALADE.--Take ten pounds of ripe yellow quinces; and having
washed them clean, pare and core them, and cut them into small pieces.
To each pound of the cut quinces allow half a pound of powdered
loaf-sugar. Put the parings and cores into a kettle with water enough
to cover them, and boil them slowly till they are all to pieces,
and quite soft. Then having put the quinces with the sugar into a
porcelain preserving kettle, strain over them, through a cloth, the
liquid from the parings and cores. Add a little cochineal powdered,
and sifted through thin muslin. Boil the whole over a quick fire till
it becomes a thick smooth mass, keeping it covered except when you are
skimming it; and always after skimming, stir it up well from the bottom.
When cold, put it up in glass jars. If you wish to use it soon, put
it warm into moulds, and when it is cold, set the moulds in luke-warm
water, and the marmalade will turn out easily.
QUINCE CHEESE.--Have fine ripe quinces, and pare and core them. Cut
them into pieces, and weigh them; and to each pound of the cut quinces,
allow half a pound of the best brown sugar. Put the cores and parings
into a kettle with water enough to cover them, keeping the lid of
the kettle closed. When you find that they are all boiled to pieces
and quite soft, strain off the water over the sugar, and when it is
entirely dissolved, put it over the fire and boil it to a thick syrup,
skimming it well. When no more scum rises, put in the quinces, cover
them closely, and boil them all day over a slow fire, stirring them and
mashing them down with a spoon till they are a thick smooth paste. Then
take it out, and put it into buttered tin pans or deep dishes. Let it
set to get cold. It will then turn out so firm that you may cut it into
slices like cheese. Keep it in a dry place in broad stone pots. It is
intended for the tea-table.