Ugly ducklings and quince jelly...

We managed to beat the possums and cockatoos to the quinces this year and over the weekend I made quince jelly. Quinces must be one of the ugliest looking fruit around but once cooked or made into jam or jelly they are completely transformed. It's just like the ugly duckling changing into a beautiful swan!
They are bumpy and lumpy and covered in a soft, grey, downy fuzz. Somewhat like baby swans! (You rub the fuzz off before using them)

 Quinces start out green and yellow as they ripen . The variety we have doesn't seem to yellow up as much as some I have seen but when ripe the fruit will practically fall into your hand when touched.

Making quince jelly is a two day process. I followed a simple recipe I found on Best Recipes 
First of all you have to rub the fuzz off the quinces. You leave the skin on (it has good pectin levels and you need pectin to set your jam or jelly) and chop the fruit into pieces. I top and tailed the fruit but did not remove the cores and seeds for the same reason as leaving the skin on. I believe the skin is also what gives the jelly it's beautiful rose colour. You cook the fruit in water with some lemon peel. Then you have to strain the juice/liquid through a fine sieve overnight. (You need a really big pot for this)
It is important NOT to try to squish the fruit down to get more juice through the sieve as this will make your jelly go cloudy.

The next day you throw away the fruit (or add it to your compost) and cook the strained juice with the correct anount of sugar. Boil until setting point is reached and pour into sterilised jars. (There are important steps to note, follow your recipe)

The quinces look quite revolting at this stage - definately still ugly duckling stage!

If all goes well at the end you will be rewarded with a beautiful transformation. Jars of lovely rosy coloured quince jelly.

Quite a long process and somewhat time consuming but oh so worth it!
Quinces are also delicious stewed by themselves or with apples or rhubarb. They go a delicious pink!

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Tis the season...

OOps no not THAT season but it's never too early to sneak a little Christmas cheer in hehehe!  It seems to be the season for cooking up seasonal produce around here this week. I decided to make soup again to use up some of the carrots and potatos I had here. When I make vegetable soup I often don't use a recipe. I just use whatever is on hand. This week I cheated a little and had Mr B buy some celery to add to the flavour.

This pot consisted of 2 large potatos, 2 large carrots, 2 medium onions, 1/3 of a sweet potato and half a bunch of celery all finely chopped. I also added a small spanish (red) onion chopped and as you may be able to see I chopped the celery leaves and added those too! All good fibre and vitamins for you.
I was actually concerned that I had overdone the celery a bit but in the end the soup was delicious. I simply covered the vegetables with vegetable stock (we have a vegetarian in the house but you can use whatever stock you like) and simmered on the stove for a good hour or more. Add salt and pepper to taste and there you have it, good old fashioned vegetable soup. If you are feeding meat eaters you can add some chicken to the pot as well. It tastes better the next day after the flavours have melded but you can eat straight away if you want.

Now for JAM I DO use a recipe! I am only new to this jam making caper so can't be guessing when things are just right. We have two feijoa trees in the garden which are producing fruit madly right now and whilst my daughter loves eating them there are way too many for her to eat them all on her own. The rest of us whilst enjoying the odd feijoa are not as fond of the fruit. Feijoas are sometimes called Pineapple guavas even though they are not a guava at all. They are a member of the myrtle family and are native to South America. The fruit are small and green skinned with creamy coloured flesh and small seeds. The flesh can be scooped out with a small spoon, the skin is not eaten.

Scooping this lot for the jam was very fiddly!

Here are the skins after the flesh has been scooped out. I think they look all the world like tiny baby avocados! The jam recipe I used came from here. It uses the skins in the recipe but they are discarded later.

Here is the flesh waiting to have other ingredients added before making into jam. The fruit discolours slightly on standing.

TADA! Four lovely pots of Feijoa jam. We managed to boil over the pot during cooking but fortunately only burnt what went on the stove, not what was in the pot! Mr B did get a burn on his hand but he assures me it is ok. We made pancakes yesterday and I am pleased to say the jam was totally delicious. It was a bit fiddly for just 4 pots but I think wothwhile. I should add that we tripled the recipe from the link above.
All this homegrown goodness brings sunshine to my days.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen