It’s time to tackle the quince mountain. The box of fruit I picked at the weekend will deteriorate if I don’t use it fast, and there is still half the tree to pick. I must have 10 lbs of fruit, and there are 20 lb more to come. I’m leaving the rest on the tree, taking advantage for as long as I can of nature’s life support system. If I pick them they lose their scent, their bloom, and grey pin pricks appear on the skin that translate into brown flecks when you cut into the flesh.

So, with the rain bucketing down this morning and gardens impossible to work in, I set to. I have some tried and tested recipes – quince and orange marmalade and quince and lemon marmalade. These are delicious; with the rosy red of the fruit once cooked and the tang of the citrus peel they have a real zing.

I have put off doing quince cheese, because I’ll be stirring for the rest of the day. Quince cheese has nothing to do with cheese but is very good with it. You make it like jam but then keep on cooking and stirring until you have a mix the consistency of toffee, and a deep red. Poured into deep trays it sets into a beautiful jelly that you slice into thin, translucent slivers of concentrated fruit.

But I needed some new recipes. And the recipe books failed me. That’s the problem with quince – and even more with mulberry, our other home-grown big crop. So few people have the trees or use the fruit that the cookery books pretty much ignore them.

I had found on Google some while ago an Australian university site with personal recipes. Someone called Jennifer Quince had one for quince and tomato relish, and someone else for ginger and quince butter. So that’s what I made this morning. I used three pounds of fruit on each. I’d give you the full url but the page seems to have disappeared. It starts http://cres.anu.edu.au but when I went there and tried to search for Quince I was denied access. The relish is delicious, it will be great on burgers and sausages, the ginger butter I’m undecided upon. The ginger works well but it has a pale sickly colour because you don’t cook it long enough to turn the fruit red.
Anyway, here are the recipes. (I reduced the amounts)

GINGER QUINCE BUTTER (for toast, pancakes, etc.)
Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2001 11:52:59 -0800
From: peggy morrison
3 pounds ripe quince (5 or 6 fruit), peeled, cored, sliced to make 8 cups
1 1/2 C. water
1 C . apple juice
3 T. lemon juice
Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes or until tender. Stir in the rest of the ingredients:
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. honey
1 T. grated lemon peel
1 T. chopped fresh ginger root (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
Cook, stirring, another 5 minutes. Puree in blender (or in food processor with a metal blade). Cool, then put into freezer or refrigerator containers and cover tightly. Can keep frozen up to 3 months. Makes about 5 cups.

Quince and tomato relish
My name is Jennifer QUINCE. I have a delicious recipe for quince and tomato relish peel and slice 4kg ripe tomatoes 3kg diced onions 5kg peeled quinces place in a large dish sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of salt and let stand overnight [I ignored this in my impatience to get on, and it didn’t seem to affect the finished product] then empty into large pot bring to the boil and add 3kgs of sugar and 2 x 250ml cups of vinegar stir until sugar is melted than add 4tbsp of dry mustard 4tbsp of curry powder boil gently for approx 2 1/2 hours stirring often than add 1 cup of plain flour stirring for approx 15 mins until thick I hope you enjoy your relish!

That solves the problem with most of the picked fruit, but I may have to delve deeper for ideas to use up the rest. The same site has a recipe for quince hand cream. Now there’s a thought