Quittengelee ist eine köstliche süße Delikatesse, die aus Quitten hergestellt wird. Es ist eine traditionelle Speise in Deutschland, die seit Jahrhunderten genossen wird. Quitten sind in der Regel herzförmige Früchte, die eine goldgelbe Farbe haben und einen starken und fruchtigen Geruch haben. Die Früchte sind reich an Vitamin C, Ballaststoffen und Antioxidantien und werden oft für ihre medizinischen Eigenschaften geschätzt. Quittengelee ist eine perfekte Ergänzung für Brot, Toast oder Käse und wird oft als Geschenk oder Souvenir an Freunde und Familie gegeben.

Quittengelee

Today, I want to show you how to process Quince. I received a basket of quince as a gift on Twitter. The tree in my garden is still too small to bear fruit, but I am grateful nonetheless for the thoughtful gift. The quince, along with some apples, inspired me to make quince jelly and quince confit. I hate wasting food, so I prefer to create two things from one ingredient if I can.

Before we start, we need to prepare the quince. We can see that the quince has tiny hairs that serve as protection against weather elements. We need to remove these hairs to prevent the bitterness it causes in our finished products like the jelly or confit. The best way to remove these hairs is by rubbing the quince with an absorbent cloth or paper.

After removing the hairs, we need to cut the quince. They are very hard, so we should be careful while cutting them. We also need to remove the blossoms and stems, and the seeds and the hard shells, which have a lot of natural pectin that we would need later in the process. We add water and the juice of two lemons to the pot with the quince, and we let it cook for an hour until the quince softens.

Once it is soft, we strain the quince mixture using a sieve or muslin cloth and allow it to drip overnight. The remaining quince mixture gets distributed evenly, so the liquid does not ooze out. The quince pieces turn brown, but this is natural, and it will not affect the taste of the jelly or confit.

We are continuing with the quince jelly, so we need two kilos of regular sugar for 25 liters of quince, and the juice of one lemon. We prepare the sugar syrup and add the strained quince mixture to it. We let it cook while stirring frequently until it reaches the desired gel texture.

We need to do a “jell-test,” where we place a small amount of the liquid jelly in a freezer, and if it gels successfully, it means it is done. The jelly needs to cool down before transferring them into sterilized jars.

For those who prefer a less sugary option, they can use gelatin sugar or experiment with their natural binders, like apple pectin, which is an excellent substitute for gelatin sugar.

The final step is to seal the jars by adding a rubber band and lids, then place them in a boiling pot for 20 minutes. This method will preserve the quince jelly for some time without any artificial preservatives.

In conclusion, processing quince requires careful preparation and patience in cooking the sugar syrup properly. With the natural binder options, it becomes a great alternative to traditional commercial sugar jelly. It’s also an excellent way to use all your produce, and you get to enjoy it for weeks or even months.
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