Quince Paste

Autumn/Easter means quince are around. This recipe is a bit of a chore but it's worth it. Quince paste is great for a cheese platter or an accompaniment for lamb.

8 quinces washed
1 cup water
juice of one lemon
sugar

Cut quinces into chunks and place into a large saucepan with a tight fitting id with water and lemon juice. Cook over a moderate heat for approximate half an hour or until quite tender.

Puree the pulp (I use my hand sieve but you could use a food processor) and weigh puree. Mix puree with three-quarters of its weight of sugar.

Return to wide-based, heavy saucepan and cook over a moderate heat, STIRRING PRETTY MUCH CONSTANTLY!, until the paste leaves the sides of the pan and the colour is a deep red. This takes two hours or more. The mixture gets really thick and becomes hard to push the spoon through.

Cool mixture slightly and pour into and oiled tray lined with greaseproof paper or plastic containers. Dry mixture in a warm place for several days (not that I notice much of a difference). When dry, wrap paste well in greaseproof paper and then in foil. It stores indefinitely in an airtight container.

Cut into slices (or use a biscuit cutter to make a shape) for serving.