quince paste, apple paste

i made these about three months ago, and have stored them in the fridge since. made with donated organic backyard fruit (thanks Rosanna and Bez), a little water and sugar, I am really pleased that they are still fresh and delicious, as this is not a recipe i'd want to make more than once a year. give yourself at least three hours, and remember to wear long sleeves and closed shoes (sugar burns HURT!!)

quince paste

2kg quinces

water

approx 1.25 kg sugar

wash, peel and core quinces: tie peel and cores in a small piece of cloth to form a bag. chop quince flesh into large chunks, and place in large saucepan with peel and cores. barely cover the fruit with water, cook covered for 20 minutes or until fruit is very soft.

remove cloth bag, and either push flesh through a fine metal sieve, or process the fruit until very smooth (however, this method is only good if you have been very thorough in removing all skin, parts of the core and seeds from the quinces when preparing them.). weigh the pulp- you should have about 1.25kg. weigh out an equal amount of sugar.

combine sugar and pulp in the saucepan. stir continuously over low heat until the quince paste is very thick and a deep ruby colour. at this stage a wooden spoon drawn through the paste will leave a very distinct trail across the bottom of the pan. this will take about 2 hours.

transfer cooked paste to a lightly greased and lined 20cm x 30cm lamington pan. spread paste flat. put the tray in a cupboard or other dry, protected spot for a couple of days. wrap it in baking paper and foil and then place in an airtight container and in the fridge in warm climates.

apple paste

the recipe for the apple paste is almost the same: 2kgs apples, 600g sugar, juice of a lemon. chop the apples into large chunks, and cook skin and all for 15 minutes. the rest of the method is the same, except that you add the lemon juice after cooking is complete.