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To Preserve Quinces

A method for preserving quinces in sugar syrup, resulting in a sweet, firm preserve.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 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 ↓

To Preserve Quinces

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the quinces

  1. Wash and wipe the quinces, then peel and core them.

  2. Cut the quinces into quarters or ½-inch thick slices.

  3. Boil the quinces in scalding water until tender, keeping them covered.

Make the syrup

  1. In a preserving kettle, combine the parings, cores, and seeds with the boiling water from the quinces.

  2. Boil this mixture for an hour, covered.

  3. For every pint of liquid, add 1 pound of loaf sugar and dissolve it.

  4. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and skim off any scum.

Cook and preserve

  1. Add the quinces and boil until they are red, tender, and clear, but not breaking apart.

  2. Keep the kettle covered to maintain color; add cochineal for improved color if desired.

  3. Once done, remove the quinces and spread them on large dishes to cool.

  4. Boil the syrup again until it resembles a fine jelly.

  5. Pour the hot syrup over the quinces and cover the jars with paper once cooled.

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
Provide the fruit that turns tender, red and clear as it cooks in syrup.
Loaf sugar
Sweetens the fruit and, boiled down, thickens the syrup into a jelly-like set.
Water
Carries the quince flavour and pectin from the parings and cores into the syrup.

The step that matters

Boil the quinces until tender but not breaking apart. Quinces need long, gentle cooking to soften and turn red. Rough boiling breaks the fruit apart, while stopping too early leaves it firm and pale.

“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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