These little christmas treats are packed full of flavour and goodness. We received such a great response to these this year I thought I’d share the recipe I use.
Fruit pastes are densely packed with fruit you may otherwise be unable to eat raw (like Quince), and even better than this they store up to a year because of the sugar content. Quince pastes may be a bit sweet on their own for some people, but are excellent additions to your christmas cheeseboard or game meats.
Use baking paper or silicon mats on a tray to ensure you can easily peel off the paste after cooking.
Ingredients
- 500ml water
- 2 Tablespoons Lemons Juice
- 2kg Quinces
- Sugar (Check method for quantity)
Method
- Chop and core the Quinces. Don’t worry about peeling. Coring I found was also very tricky as the cores are larger than apples are, I ended up just roughly hacking away at the middle and getting all the seeds out.
- Add to a pan of 500ml water and the lemon juice and cook for 30-40 minutes.
- Cool, then blend with a processor.
- Press the mixture through a fine sieve to create the puree.
- Weigh the puree and add the same weight in sugar. (e.g. If the puree weighs 1kg, add 1kg sugar). The sugar is key here to ensuring preservation.
- Stir the sugar in over a low heat until dissolved and the mixture is thick and coats the spoon (around 45-60 minutes).
- Spread into trays and spread evenly. Allow to fully cool. Cut into small bite size portions.
- If the paste “sweats” too much, further reduce the water content by dehydrating.
Store in a cool, dry place preferably in paper or foil tins.
