Quince and Red Currant Jam
I'm a very picky person when it comes to jams. I don't like them too sweet and we all know that most commercially bottled jams are usually overly sweet! That's because sugar serves as the preservative of the jam. The recommended ratio is always 1:1 with fruit and sugar. So a kilo of fruit would be needing a kilo of sugar too. And that amount of sugar sends me running away from the sweetness.
So whenever my fruit trees yield a good amount of fruits, I make my own jams at home. I have an annual appointment in the kitchen with my quince harvest. It is a peculiar kind of fruit because it is not pleasant to eat raw like what you do with its cousins, the apples and pears.
Quince has a high amount of pectin which gradually diminishes when they ripen. Like the apples and pears, they turn brownish as soon as they are exposed to the air after peeling but don't worry because this disappears when you start cooking them. What's nice is the pinkish tint and the light perfume that it emits while cooking the pulp. I usually mix the pulp with liquors or lemon juice to cut the sweetness a bit and to make the flavor rounder. In this recipe, I used fresh red currants in place of the lemon juice to give it a nicer combination of flavors. Since I am not into sweet jams, I never go for the 1:1 ratio of fruit with sugar. My ratio is much less but the drawback is that the shelf life is much shortened. In my house, quince jam never lasts long anyway so it is not a problem for me. If, you would like your quince jam to last longer, then put up the quantity of sugar.
You can find the recipe below or you can also get it at this Quince and Red Currant Jam recipe link that I created for She Knows.
Quince and Red Currant Jam
Yields 1-3/4 cupsIngredients:
- 1 kilo peeled and chopped quince
- 1-1/4 cups white sugar
- 1-1/2 cups water1/8 cup red currants
Directions:
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the quince, sugar, water and red currants, and let them boil.
- Simmer over low-medium heat until the jam reaches a thick consistency. Stir occasionally to avoid it sticking and burning.
- While the jam is cooking, sterilize the jars and covers by boiling them for at least 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Remove them from the boiling water with clean tongs or anything else you can use so that you don’t touch the jars and the covers. Place them upside down on a clean dishcloth, and don’t touch the insides.
- Once the jam has cooked, spoon it into the jars while still hot. Make sure there are no air pockets. Seal the jars, and then store them away from direct sunlight. Refrigerate after opening.
- Eat the jam within 2 weeks, because the amount of sugar in this recipe is not enough for long conservation. If you want to keep the jam for a longer time, then use an equal amount of sugar and fruit.
