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Dessert

Preserved Quinces

A method for preserving quinces in sugar syrup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓

Preserved Quinces

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the quinces

  1. Pare, core, and slice or quarter the quinces.

  2. Put the quinces in a kettle, cover with boiling water, and simmer until tender.

  3. Remove the quinces and place them on platters until all are done. Use the same water for all quinces.

  4. Add the parings and rough pieces to the water, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

  5. Strain the liquid and measure it, allowing 1 pint of sugar for each pint of liquid.

Make the syrup

  1. Return the liquid to the kettle with the sugar and stir until dissolved.

  2. Boil for 10 minutes, skimming thoroughly.

  3. Add the quinces and boil until clear, tender, and red, keeping the cover on.

Jar and seal

  1. Once done, place the quinces into glasses or jars.

  2. Boil the syrup until it thickens to a jelly-like consistency, then pour over the fruit.

  3. Let it cool before sealing.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,444 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Quinces
The main fruit; simmering softens its firm flesh and turns it tender and rosy.
Sugar
Sweetens the fruit and, when boiled down, thickens the syrup to a jelly-like set.

The step that matters

Boil the syrup until it thickens to a jelly-like consistency. Sugar and fruit pectin set as the syrup concentrates. Stopping too early leaves a runny syrup, while cooking too long can make it overly stiff.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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