Quince jelly and quince paste

Ingredients

About 2 lbs quinces or japonica apples

Around 3 pints of water for every 2 lbs of fruit 

Sugar (probably two bags of it)

A little vanilla essence if desired. 

Method:

For the jelly:

1. Cut the quinces in quarters and get the pips out and any black dusty bits. No need to peel them or remove the cores. The peel and cores are where the pectin is.
2. Put them in a large pan and add lots of cold water: around 3 pts for 2 lbs of fruit. If you don't have enough water there's not enough jelly and it's too strong.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit's tender (this seems to take very little time if they are ripe: maybe 15 to 30 minutes should do).
4. Lay a large square of muslin in a large mixing bowl and spoon the fruit into it. Gather up the corners, tie it with string and hang the jelly bag over the bowl. Leave it to drip over night.
5. Next day, set the bag of fruit aside (we use it for the quince paste).
6. Measure the juice into a measuring jug. 
7. Weigh up sugar at the rate of 1 lb for each pint of juice.
8. Put some jars to warm in the oven.
9. Put the sugar and the juice into a pan, and boil it.
10. Test it to see when it reaches the setting point, by the old fashioned methods or using a thermometer. In my experience it sometimes sets below the jam temperature.
11. When it reaches setting point, remove it from the heat. Skim off the scum if any and save it for bread and jam for tea. 
12. Pot the jelly into the warm jars, and label it up.

For the paste (or quince comfits):

1. Remove the fruit pulp from the muslin bag.
2. Rub it through a steel sieve, in small batches, using a wooden spoon, until it is all rubbed. Wipe the pulp off the bottom of the sieve with a scraper. 
3. Discard the fibrous residue left in the sieve after each batch of rubbing.
4. Weigh the resulting pulp. You should have around 1 lb or so.
5. Weigh up 1lb of sugar for every 1 lb of pulp.
6. Put the pulp and the sugar in a pan. 
7. Heat very gently to dissolve the sugar, and then simmer on very low heat for an hour and a half, until it is deep orange and thick. Add vanilla at the end of cooking if desired.
8. Line the base of a small swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper. Spread the paste into the tin.
9. Place in a warm dust-free place to dry, for about a week or two.
10. Cut into pieces, to serve small slices with cheese or cold meat (as membrillo), or serve in small squares as sweets (medieval comfits) with coffee etc.

JAM: Blackcurrant, Damson or Gooseberry

Ingredients

2 1/4- 2 1/2 lbs prepared fruit

3 lbs granulated sugar 

1-2 pints of water

Method

1. Warm enough clean jars for about 5 lbs of jam (put them in a low heat oven).
2. Put the fruit and water in the large preserving pan and simmer gently until the fruit is soft (about 30 minutes). Add a little water to prevent the fruit from burning if necessary.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. When the sugar has dissolved, boil the jam hard, but not so hard that it boils over.
5. Test for setting after about ten minutes of fast boiling, and/or use a jam thermometer.
6. When setting point is reached, draw it off the heat to a safe place for pouring into jars.
7. Use a warm jug to scoop jam out of the pan and pour into the pots. Screw on the lids firmly before the jam is cold.
8. Clean the sticky off the outside of the jars with a hot wet cloth, and then label the jars when cool and dry.

Lemon Curd

For this recipe you will need a microwave oven (conventionally it is done in a double boiler saucepan).

Makes about three jars.

Ingredients:

1 lb sugar
4 eggs
4 lemons
8 oz butter

Method:

1. Find a large mixing bowl, made of glass, plastic or china (not metal).
2. Put the pat of butter in the mixing bowl and warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it.
3. Add the grated rind and juice of the lemons to the bowl.
4. Add the sugar.
   
5. Put the bowl in the microwave again and heat it for a minute or two till it's all runny. Stir it.
   
6. Add the eggs and beat the mixture with a hand whisk (or a fork would probably do okay) until it's all smooth and a consistent colour and consistency all through.
7. Microwave for 30 seconds on full power. Remove and whisk the mixture again.
8. Repeat step 7 for as many times as required (about 7-8 times) until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. It must not boil. Use medium power for the last one or two sessions if you are anxious about going too far.
9. Pot into warm glass jam jars, and screw on the lids while it is still hot (or use the traditional wax paper and cellophane jam covers).
10. Use within about 4 weeks. May need to be refrigerated after opening depending on how fast you eat it.