Step #1 Find the
fruit
Back in September, I wrote about the surprise and wonder of
discovering the bushes I had planted in 2002 were flowering quince and on how I
wished to do a little urban foraging on the university grounds from which they
came. Well, a few days ago, we did.
It was in the low fifties and spitting rain as we donned
wellies and slickers. When my sweet husband asked me why we were doing this in
the rain I said, “Because it’s now a choice between relatively warm rain and
utter cold. We’ve already had a handful of nights in the mid-twenties and if
there are quinces out there, the woods may have cooled enough to freeze them
the very next time. Besides, it’s not really raining.” He raised one eyebrow.
We took along a medium-sized backpack I had lined with a
tall, skinny cardboard box (in case the fruit was mushy) and several plastic
grocery bags tucked into the pocket. We
entered university property via a back road and drove through the woods close
to the place where we remembered digging the little suckers that were to become
our beautiful flowering quince bushes. Jorge interrupted my pleasant reverie
with, “Let’s go to Security and let them know what we’re doing.” I told him he
really knew how to take the fun out of foraging. In the end, I didn’t argue, as
I didn’t want getting shot at to be Step #2 in the process of making quince
preserves.
About that time, we spotted the white car with the
university logo on its door. We pulled up alongside and I explained I was
alumni and we were looking for quinces. I was surprised by the initial fear in
his eyes and he was surprised that two nutcases wanted to get wet hunting for,
what? We parked the car in a far-flung lot and took the first path that
presented itself. As we entered this parallel world, I told Jorge to look back
into the shrubbery for yellow globes. Goes to show you what I know.
GARDEN OF NEMESIS MAPLE TREE 2013
It wasn’t long before the trail split and narrowed and we
found ourselves on a deer path. Fallen leaves were slippery underfoot as it
drizzled and dripped from above. In the distance we could hear traffic, but it
seemed far removed from this woodland paradise. Suddenly, we entered a maple
tree colony and were bathed in buttery diffused light. We stood in silent
marvel. The canopy was a ceiling of bright yellow.
In the other world of debt ceilings and government shutdowns
and unemployment and random shootings and GMOs and chemtrails and nuclear waste
leaking into the ocean and atmosphere…well, Mother Nature teaches us how to go
on. No matter how ruthlessly and thoughtlessly her children treat her sacred
gift, she keeps selflessly giving.
It wasn’t long after that when we stumbled upon the fallen
crop of a quince tree, said to be not as tasty as the fruit of the quince bush.
We gathered about fifty quinces that were not yellow and certainly not mushy;
they were greenish yellow-brown, hard as rocks and not one was bigger than a
tennis ball.
For the rest of the hike, we were reasonably satisfied our
romp in the woods was not just fun, but practical. We never came across the
quince bushes and the rain became soaking, so we reluctantly made our way to
the car.
Upon arriving home, I immediately washed my little
treasures. Did I take any photos? Sorry, I forgot in all the excitement. Now
for
Step #2 Decide what
to make from the fruit
I had collected several recipes from the internet, but all
of them involved peeling and chopping. These things are hard and I simply
wasn’t up to it, as I still had a load of apples to process. The apples, in
fact, gave me the idea to make quince butter.
Step #3 Quarter the
Fruit and Put it on to Boil
I used one of my good jelly pots and set the quinces to
boil. After two hours, I deemed the fruit soft enough to put through the Foley
Food Mill. I realize most kitchens aren’t equipped with one of these handy
devices. According to E How, “A food mill is a
utensil used for mashing and sieving various foods. It should be used for foods
that require impeccable smoothness. The food mill outdates many of its
contemporary competitors, such as the food processor or blender. Though this
hand-operated kitchen tool may seem a bit archaic, it offers a quality of food
that many other appliances cannot.”
Step #4 Foley Food
Mill the fruit
A guy from Minnesota patented this mill in 1933 and my mother had one, which
she considered very modern. I bought one at a garage sale years ago, although
they’re not expensive to buy new. This food mill wastes nothing, which is handy
when you have very little of the food you’re processing. It catches and sifts
out seeds, cores, fibers and skin, leaving a perfectly smooth sauce. Using a
blender or food processor requires you to remove unwanted pieces of produce
yourself, or grind them up, so it’s a time saver in the end.
Quinces are seedier than apples,
thus harder to mill and more time consuming. When I finished this task I had
about three quarts of sauce.
Step #5 Put back on
the stove to cook down
I used the same pot to cook down
the fruit, as my other one was filled with quartered apples already cooking.
Cooking down any fruit takes time and patience. Both quince and apple sauce
need no pectin in order to “jell,” they are full of it. I added a few shakes of
clove powder as I could always add more later to taste. I also threw in a
couple cups of sugar. I added a third cup later as I determined it was not
sweet enough. The burner must remain on low and this has to be stirred often. A
good jelly pan will ensure it does not stick and scorch.
As it cooked, a wonderful aroma
filled the house. It began to change color; it went from beige-brown to a deep,
rich burgundy color. The taste was just as heavenly. It had evaporated about
one third of its mass and finally sheeted off the spoon and was ready to jar.
Step #6 Jar and process
The jars and lids were hot and sterile, so I filled them
with the precious quince “butter”; it yielded nine half pints. The jars went
back into the canner to boil for another ten minutes. When the timer went off,
I lifted the jars onto a thick towel on the counter and, with the taste of
quince still in my mouth, stood for a moment to admire my work. It was good.
