posted by descher 09-08-98 2:38 AM
Quince Paste
The following recipe comes from George Biron, owner-chef of one of Victoria's most delightful country restaurants, Sunnybrae at Birregurra. I have found that the mixture spits like mad and a deep pan is necessary. George does not find this and recommends a wide pan that is no more than 10-12 cm high. You may, however, need to have a tea towel ready to wrap around your stirring hand to avoid burns!
8 quinces, washed, peeled, and cored
1 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
sugar
Cut quinces into chunks and place in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid with water, lemon juice and a quarter
of the cores and pips.
Cook over moderate heat until quince is quite tender, about 30 minutes. Pass contents of saucepan through medium disc of a food mill ( or use a food processor) and weigh puree. (The cores and pips will be barely noticeable and the extrapectin in the mixture hastens the cooking process).
Mix puree with three-quarters of it's weight of sugar. Return to a wide-based saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring every few minutes, until paste leaves side of pan and colour is a deep pinky-red.
This should take 3-4 hours. At this point it will be quite hard to push the spoon through the mass. Allow mixture to cool a little, then pour it into an oiled tray lined with greaseproof paper. (This amount of fruit will fill a lamington tin, 28 cm x 18 cm x 5 cm.)
Dry mixture in a warm place for several days or overnight in an oven with the pilot light left on. Cover with greaseproof paper if you have an ant problem. When dry, wrap paste well in greaseproof paper and then in foil.
It stores indefinitely in an airtight tin.