Why? Because you can! And pickle, and jam, or otherwise celebrate the resurgence of the domestic arts our forebears held so dear. Put on your best apron and step into our kitchen, won't you?
If for no other reason, I think you should make this marmalade for the smell alone. Every time I walk past the jar I have to open the lid and smell it. It is not only marmalade, but aromatherapy too.
Some jam is touchy, requiring that everything be just so. And others are easy, coming together almost in spite of you. This quince jam is the latter -- a real floozy of a jam that anyone can make.
This is adapted from a Ball guide recipe, adding vanilla bean and lemon juice and mashing down the fruit further to become a beautiful rosy quince jam. The aroma as you cook it alone is nearly worth the work, but the jam itself is Fall at its finest.
Betsy is lucky enough to have a neighbor w/ quince trees! She walks us through the process of making jelly and then using the quince pulp to create membrillo, which is a firm paste traditionally eaten in Spain with Manchego, at breakfast or dessert.
