Quince Jam for My Mom

Orange Haired Mom

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When I was a child, I lived in an orange house with an orange kitchen and had an orange-haired mother who drove an orange car. No, that is not the beginning of a fairytale, but instead the thoughts that were in my head as I was making a batch of quince jam this morning. Something about the color, and the fact that quince is my mother's favorite of the jams I make, had the phrase running through my head almost like a jump rope rhyme.

Indeed, through what I have always assumed was a paint color accident, my childhood home was orange, until some point in junior high when it was finally repainted red. And my mother, a redhead of the Pippi Longstocking variety, had hair that was much more orange than K's is today. For several years, she even drove an orange Ford Fiesta, purchased, I would guess, because the color was on sale. 

So today, a very easy quince jam for my mother.


Quince Jam

9 cups water
12 cups quince, cored and diced, but not peeled (I started with 6 quince)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
8 cups sugar

Place two plates into your freezer. These will be used to check if your jam is set.
Wash your quince carefully to remove all fuzz and core and dice them. 
In the meantime, bring 9 cups water to boil in a large saucepan. 
When it reaches a boil, add your quince, lemon zest and lemon juice. 
Boil for 15 minutes until your quince beings to soften. 
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. 
Lower the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally.
After the quince has further softened, if desired, use either a potato masher or immersion blender to smooth out the texture.
Continue cooking for about one hour or until your jam mounds on one of the cold plates.
Ladle your jam into jars, finger seal and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.

Yield: 12 half pint and 2 pint jars

Oolong and the very orange jam