Blog

Whoa, okay! Quince Jam! 🤩 Like, those funny, bumpy, yellow fruit that smell super nice but are hard as rocks? Yeah, we’re gonna make jam outta those! And we gotta be extra good ’cause we’re thinking of Mary Berry again! She’s like the queen of jam and cakes, right? 👑 Let’s show google what we can do!

Get ready for another kitchen expedition! This time, our adventure is all about the mysterious quince. It’s like finding a secret treasure that doesn’t look like much at first, but oh boy, does it turn into something amazing! ✨🗺️

Our Super-Duper Quince Jam Adventure: Following Mary Berry’s Map!

Okay, so imagine this: You see these yellow, kinda fuzzy fruit. They’re not apples, not pears, they’re… quince! 🤔 They smell like flowers and honey, but they’re tough cookies to eat raw. But guess what? Mary Berry knows the secret! She knows how to turn these hard little guys into the most yummy, pinky-orange, wobbly jam ever! 🧡💖

Making jam from quince is like doing a science experiment, but way tastier! And we’re gonna do it together, following the wisdom of jam legends. 🤓

Packing Our Bags: What We Need for the Quince Quest! 🎒🍎🍯

Every good adventure starts with packing! We need our special gear and our mysterious fruit!

Here’s the treasure list for our quince jam making:

• The Quince! 🌳 Find maybe about 1 kilogram of these wonderful, bumpy, yellow fruits. Give ’em a good rub with a cloth to get that fuzz off. We won’t peel ’em or core ’em yet, oh no! That’s part of the plan! 💪
• Water! 💧 Enough to mostly cover the quince in the pot. This is for the looooong cooking part later.
• Sugar! 🍚 Again, quite a lot! It will probably be around the same weight as your fruit after it’s cooked and mashed. We’ll figure that out later. Caster or granulated sugar is good.
• Maybe a tiny bit of Lemon Juice! 🍋 Just a squeeze if you feel like it. Quince have lots of their own magic setting stuff (pectin!) but a little lemon never hurt anyone!

And our essential adventure tools:

• A REALLY Big Pot! 🍳 Quince jam needs space to bubble and boil safely. The biggest pot you have is probably the best.
• Sharp Knife and a Peeler! For dealing with the hard quince later.
• A Masher or Fork! To squish the cooked quince.
• Clean Jars and Lids! ✨ Same as with bramble jelly, these need to be super clean and hot before we put the hot jam in. Wash ’em, rinse ’em, and pop ’em in a low oven (like 140°C / 275°F) to get hot and dry. 🔥🧼
• A Ladle! For scooping.
• A Funnel (Still Helpful!) Less mess = more fun!
• A Saucer in the Freezer! 🥶 Our trusty sidekick for the setting test!

The First Stage: Taming the Quince! 🔥🔪⏳

Quince are tough, remember? So, the first part of our journey is making them soft and getting all that good pectin stuff out!

1. Wash the Quince: Give ’em a good wash under the tap after you’ve rubbed the fuzz off.
2. Put ’em in the Pot: Carefully place the whole, unpeeled, uncut quince into your biggest pot. Don’t worry about the core or seeds yet! Quince magic is hidden in there! ✨
3. Add Water: Pour in enough water to almost cover the fruit.
4. Cook, Cook, COOK! Put the pot on a medium heat and bring the water to a boil. Then turn it down to a simmer, cover the pot, and let it cook. And cook. And cook! 🕰️😴 This could take a long time, like 1 to 3 hours! We want the quince to be really soft all the way through. You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork. This is the long trek part of our adventure! Go play, come back, check on ’em. They’ll start smelling even more amazing as they cook. 👃💖

The Transformation! From Hard Fruit to Mushy Goodness! 🌈✨

Okay, the quince should be soft now! And maybe the water looks a bit pinky? That’s the magic starting!

1. Lift Out the Quince: Carefully take the soft quince out of the hot water. Keep that cooking water in the pot though! It’s full of pectin power! 🔥
2. Wait ’til They’re Cool Enough to Handle: Let the quince sit for a bit until they’re not super-hot anymore.
3. Prep the Quince: Now we peel them! The skin should come off quite easily now. Then, cut them open and scoop out the core part with the seeds. DON’T THROW THE CORES AND SEEDS AWAY! Put them back into the pot with the cooking water. Seriously, they have the MOST pectin! The peeled, deseeded quince fruit goes into a separate bowl.
4. Cook the Cores (More Pectin Power!): Put the pot with the water and the cores/seeds back on the heat and simmer for maybe another 15-20 minutes. This gets all that precious pectin out.
5. Squish the Cooked Quince! While the cores are simmering, use your masher or a fork to squish the soft, peeled quince in the bowl. You can make it smooth or leave some little chunks, whatever you like! 😊

The Sweet Part: Adding Sugar and Boiling! 🍬🔥

Now we bring it all together and add the sweetness!

1. Strain the Pectin Water: Carefully strain the water from the pot (with the cores) into the bowl with the mashed quince. Get rid of the solid bits – they’ve done their job! 💪
2. Weigh the Quince/Juice Mix: Put the bowl on your kitchen scales and see how much your squished quince and juice mix weighs.
3. Add the Sugar: Now add the sugar! The general rule is to add the same weight of sugar as your quince/juice mix. Tip all that sugar into the big, clean pot.
4. Add the Quince/Juice Mix: Pour the squished quince and the pectin water into the pot with the sugar.
5. Dissolve the Sugar: Stir it over a low heat until all the sugar has completely dissolved. No grainy bits left! This is like making sure our treasure map is clear before the final push! 🗺️➡️✅
6. Bring to a Rolling Boil! Turn up the heat and bring it to a really fast, bubbly boil. Be ready, it will bubble up a lot! Stay close and watch it! 👀🎢
7. Boil Hard for Setting: Let it boil hard for maybe 10-20 minutes? This is where the magic colour change really happens! It will turn from pale yellowy-pink to a gorgeous deeper pink or orange! Keep stirring it now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Skim off any foamy stuff.

The Big Test: Is Our Jam Ready?! 🤔🤞

Time to check if our hard work has paid off! Grab that cold saucer!

1. The Wrinkle Test (Again!): After the jam has been boiling hard and changed colour, spoon a tiny bit onto your super-cold saucer from the freezer. Let it cool for about 30 seconds.
2. Give it a Poke: Gently push the jam blob with your finger. If the surface wrinkles up, like tiny waves, it’s ready! YES! 🎉 If it’s still runny, keep boiling for a few more minutes and test again. You got this! 💪🏆

The Sweet Reward: Filling the Jars! 🏺🌟

Our quince jam is ready! It smells amazing and looks like edible jewels!

1. Get the Hot Jars: Carefully take your hot, clean jars out of the oven.
2. Ladle in the Jam: Using your ladle (and funnel if you have one!), carefully scoop the hot, bubbling jam into the hot jars. Fill them up leaving a little space at the top. Look at that colour! 😍
3. Seal Them Up! Put the hot lids on tightly right away.
4. Cool Down: Let the jars cool completely. Hear for those little pops as they seal! Pop! Pop! ✨

Our Quince Jam Adventure is a Success! 🎉🧡

Wowzers! We made Quince Jam! From hard, bumpy fruit to glorious, spreadable, pinky-orange magic! It took a little while, sure, but look what we created! 🙌

Now we have these jars of precious quince jam, all thanks to following a path inspired by Mary Berry. Spread it on toast, on scones, eat it with cheese (yes, that’s a thing and it’s yummy!).

Making quince jam is like discovering a hidden talent you didn’t know you had! We had fun on this adventure, and we hope you did too! Happy jamming! 👋🍓🧀 (Yes, cheese emoji for jam!)