I've had quince jelly once or twice, but until today I've never actually prepared these fruit. When raw, they're very tough and tart, so apparently they're almost always cooked in some way.

I adapted a recipe I found online, using it to poach four medium-large ripe quinces, quartered and peeled.

Combine the following in a large pot:

  • About 1.4 litres of water
  • Half a cup of sugar
  • A quarter of a cup of honey
  • A teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • A thumb-sized piece of cinnamon bark
  • About half a dozen whole cloves
  • A teaspoon of ground ginger
  • About four whole star anise
  • A lemon, halved but not peeled or juiced

Heat until simmering, then add the quince and cover with a sheet of baking paper, with a hole in the center for ventillation.

Simmer for an hour, or longer if needed. Poke the quince pieces with a very sharp knife to test whether they're cooked through.

The fruit ends up warm and delicious, just like the syrup they're poached in.

You've just got to take care with cutting and coring the fruit. The cores are really solid and fibrous, and the flesh is firm too. I experimented with various knives, and eventually settled on a meat cleaver for quartering the fruit, a non-serrated steak knife for coring, and a filleting knife for removing the skin.