Despite the fiddly bits with the quinces, the paste set nicely. If I was following the recipe (above ⬆️ ), I'd cut them and roll the pieces in sugar. But I have turned it out as a block and put it in the dehydrator. Once it is a little firmer I'll cut into lengths and finish the dehydration. This way they will keep for 12 months or so.
So, I am pleased with this result; most will be gifted.
#quinces #FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #VegetarianFood #food
The #QuinceVinegarTake2 is progressing and I'll strain it off the fruit today.
The salt brine cinnamon and spices quince ferment was disappointing, and we ate that quickly until it was consumed. Phew.
The "sweet" quince ferment, (ie using sugar not salt) also disappointing, I strained today. The fruit went into a big pan of roast veggies as I noticed the other day that it goes well cooked that way.
The strained liquid I first bottled and labelled as "Sweet Quince Drizzle" as it is rather nice.
But then I was cooking the roasted quinces (from yesterday) pulped with sugar, and I added the quince drizzle to that. Good, all used up. Hopefully the paste will set, but I'll dehydrate it either way.
And I learned something IMPORTANT. The ferments were not showing any of the beautiful apple and rose notes that are inherent in quinces, but, it seems, ONLY WHEN YOU apply sugar and heat.
As soon as I put the pulp from the roasted quinces on the heat, those flavour notes came through.
So all those who claim they come through in ferments - well, they didn't in my kitchen.
Quinces cooling after the oven baking.
Quinces have a lot of juice in them, even tho it is not apparent in the raw fruit. I used to make quince molasses by juicing the fruit and using that as the base.
It was evident again today as I took the foil off the tray. They were roasted without any liquid, and yet there was a lot of steam under the foil.
I'll pulp and cook later today.
.... The recipe is from Not Just Jam, by Australia's own Matthew Evans. The recipe is publicly available, so I share it here.
Other recipes can be found here https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/make-jam-be-happy/qofxhqmkx and there are more if you want to search.
Also see these honey-roasted quinces from the same author: https://lorriegrahamblog.com/honey-roasted-quince-the-commons-mathew-evans/
#Quinces #FromTheKitchen #AustralianAuthor #WhatIAmCooking #Vegetarian #food #cookbooks #MatthewEvans #NotJustJam
Good morning all you beautiful ones. Welcome to and overcast Saturday with the chance of a late drizzle with thunder. Not much rain, but every drop counts.
I am in the kitchen early. The remaining quinces are in the oven, baking whole! Yes, I know! I have never done this before, but there is a first time, and I love first times.
They will hopefully be turned into comfits - so the recipe claims - the soft quinces pulp, sieved of its inner bits, will be simmered with sugar, set, cut into squares and rolled in sugar.
I plan to dehydrate them for longer shelf life, and may not roll them in sugar. They should be sweet enough.
These final quinces have the most exquisite perfume. I will miss them gracing the table and their sweet aroma drifting through the kitchen.
I needed a break from endless data analysis and a snack.
So it is miso soup and some brown rice crackers with avocado and the two different quince chutneys (ferments) with the crackers/avo.
The "salt" quince ferment has a lovely sour edge that is nice with the avo. The brine was made with lemon juice, but the "sour" has mellowed to "tart". It's Ok, and I'll enjoy this more than the other.
The "sweet" quince ferment is still sweet - I checked the recipe and it shouldn't be. I think the recipe (blog article) is wrong, but 🤷♀️ . The base syrup is Ok - sweet, a bit quincy, too sweet for a drink, not flavoured enough to use as a syrup. The quince itself has texture and not much else going for it.
As it turns out, the best tasting quince ferment in this lot of 3 ferments is the ongoing quince vinegar. It hasn't soured yet, but the quince taste is strong. Even tho fewer quinces are used than in the "sweet" ferment.
#FromTheKitchen #ferments #Fermenting #food #WhatIAmEating #vegetarian #Quinces
#Fermentation news #FromTheKitchen
i've been underwhelmed by both the "sweet" and the "salty" quince ferments. The one using sugar to ferment is way over the recommended ferment time, but has not yet developed a tart note. It is still sweet.
The brined one is Ok, just disappointing after all the fabulous results I have had with other ferments. The flavours of the quince are not pronounced and the promised spice flavours are not prominent at all.
Still, they are edible, and will sit on the kitchen bench rather than the fridge, so that they will be used and won't get lost at the back of the fridge.
The vinegar is still fermenting, but also very very slowly compared to the grapes (in Summer).
#food #WhatIAmCooking #Fermenting #Vegetarian #QuinceVinegarTake2 #Quinces
Fermented Quince Vinegar Take 2
After the last quince vinegar developed unwanted things in the ferment, I thought I better take more care with Take 2.
I am following #Katz's Fruit Vinegar amounts in #WildFermentation. It is far less sugar than I use last time when I was guessing - it did taste so good though! But I don't think it was the sugar last time, rather I got less rigorous in following the process.
I am making a 1l jar, so will probably get 500-600 ml once the fruit is removed after fermentation. I want to get into the habit of making small batch vinegars from scraps of fruit.
For anyone following along - about 250g fruit, chopped small, 3 cups filtered water, 3 Tbsp cane sugar (I used a bit more as quince does not have a lot of its own sugar content), 1 Tbsp raw vinegar as starter (possibly optional, Katz does not use). Instructions vary depending on source, but I use Katz's process - cover with cloth, stir daily etc etc.
Quinces smell beautiful btw.
#FermentedQuinceTake2 #FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #Quinces #Fermenting #GrowYourOwn
🫖 I made my first cup of #quince tea from the dried quince offcuts. There are much more complicated recipes but I just infused the offcuts in the coffee press (handy for making herbal teas too), and sipped without sweetener.
🫖 It was interesting and very nice. Hints of lemon, apple, herbs. Gentle. Surprisingly it doesn't need sweetening. I'll dry some more.
🫙 Sadly, the quince vinegar developed some unwanted intruders - it happens and I am thankful that I have only ever had 1 other ferment go awry. I wasn't paying as much attention to it as I did the grape vinegar. But thankfully the citrus scrap vinegar is looking fiiiiine.
🫙 🟠 So today I'll start some more quince vinegar and 1 or 2 other quince ferments.
#PawPaw
#Persimmon
#Hazelnuts
#Quinces
All growing well at #WellandCommunityOrchard 🙂
#LifecyclesProject #ViewRoyal #volunteering #FoodSecurity #Wsanec #Saanich #Lekwungen #VictoriaBC #Grassroots #NonProfit #CommunityOrchard #CommunityFood #LegacyPark #CommunityBased #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #PNW #fruits #nuts #FruitTrees #orchard #FoodTrees #GrowingFood #GrowingFruits
