Quince trees love it on our islands. They are hardy, reliable and give a good crop every year. The only problem with that is that we Canadians do not tend to eat much quince and when we do it is usually as jam or jelly. I ask you, who among us really needs more sugar?
We have two quince trees and with minimal care they provide us with heaps of fruit every year. I planted them thinking it would be useful to have a supply of pectin for making jams and jellies as you can add quince juice to other fruit as a source of pectin.
I have found a new use for quince as the fruit of one of our trees has come ripe. I am lucky to have two cultivars that ripen at different times, allowing me to deal with one load of fruit before the other arrives. Many of our quince fruit split on the tree, especially the larger fruit. The fruit are golden when ripe and have a bit of a furry coat that washes off easily. They have a delicious scent and flavour. When cooked, they turn a beautiful shade of red.
The fruit do not become fully ripe here but they would in a warmer climate. They look like a lumpy cross between an apple and a pear and are a member of the apple family.
A friend gave me a Finnish steam juicer and it is my new favourite kitchen toy. My friend uses her steamer to make vegetable stock, juice and to steam meals. It really is an interesting and useful kitchen treasure. It has a chamber for water at the bottom, then a chamber for the juice and a basket on top which you fill with the food to be steamed. The juice comes out of the collecting chamber via a little hose. The whole thing is very low tech and really cannot go wrong as long as the chamber for water is not allowed to run dry.
I loaded my steamer up with chopped apples which were not of a good enough quality to wrap for the winter, some over-ripe pears and a bunch of washed and chopped quince. I turned it on and went away to practice the cello for an hour and came down to find it almost done.
The fruit or vegetables in the top compartment are much reduced and look dry when they are done. I sweetened the juice with a little honey in the collecting chamber and poured it into hot pint jars that I was holding in a little metal jug. The jug is necessary as the hose has to be lower than the reservoir and the jar will be too hot to hold in an oven mitt when the juice comes out of the chamber. The juice come out scalding hot so banish children and pets from the kitchen while you are doing this.
You will need to have your canning jars hot before you put the juice in and one way to do this is to put the jars on a baking sheet in an over set at 275 degrees Fahrenheit and leave them there for ten minutes. Another way is to pour boiling water from a kettle into each jar to heat it before you empty the jar and fill it with juice.
The book which comes with the canner explains how they can juice successfully in Finland and it seems to work as well here. You put scalding hot juice into a hot jar and pop the lid on, screw the ring down and leave it to cool. No processing in a water bath canner is required which makes the whole operation so easy and pleasant.
The juice was a fetching shade of pink and I had a little left over after canning six pints. We had a little of the juice chilled and topped up with soda water. It was a very pleasant and refreshing drink.
Quince can also be added in small quantities to apple sauce or pies to improve the flavour and to give a hint of colour. A friend taught me to wash quinces, wrap them in tinfoil and bake until the fruit is soft. Then, I unwrap the fruit and pour a drizzle of honey on it and eat it as a winter treat.
The Spanish make membrillo ( a thick quince jam that is eaten with cheese and walnuts) and the Portuguese make marmelada which is similar and they will tell you it is the best.
October and November are good months to plant fruit trees and every garden and orchard can benefit from having a small quince tree. The fruit is sometimes so heavy on the trees that it makes the whole tree look golden.
