QUINCE, LEMON AND ALMOND JAM

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 This is a recipe I found at some point on the internet, years ago, and have never found again, but it’s fairly basic. It’s a change from quince jelly (and less work). It makes a rather thick, cloudy jam depending on how much you reduce it and how much ground almonds you add, but it has a unique flavour. It keeps for at least a couple of years without refrigeration, if it lasts that long. We have a friend from Chile who goes into raptures about it as he was brought up on a similar version to this. He emptied my jam cupboard of it in a week.

 

We like it on toasted baguettes, with warm brioche, with Greek yoghurt as an instant dessert or, in Emma’s case, straight from the pot!

 

In Provence, quince paste (a heavily reduced quince jelly) is a traditional speciality, doused in sugar. This isn’t quite as solid or chewy but it’s delicious. Thanks to Helen for beautiful, downy quinces by the bucketful!

 

Ingredients

1 kg quince, peeled, cored, and chopped roughly, quickly dipped into water with lemon juice to stop it going brown

1 kg sugar

20 cl water

2–4 tbs lemon juice (we like it lemony)

100 g ground almonds (or a little more, depending on your taste)

A handful of flaked almonds

 

Boil the quince in a jam pan or other large pan with the water until soft, adding more water if necessary. Once soft, add the sugar, and boil until it’s at setting temperature (test on cold plates or with a thermometer). Add the ground almonds and flaked almonds, stir again, and fill your jam jars.

 

Yum.