  | Quince Comfits | ||
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« Back to Sweets & Comfits at Christmas If you can get hold of quinces you are a very lucky person indeed. They have a wonderful honeyed aroma and are very versatile indeed. You can use them to make jelly, jam, chutney, to flavour vodka or to make these wonderful sweets which are rather like a cross between Turkish Delight and fudge. You will need: 1 kg quinces (2-4
depending on size) Method: Wash the quinces making sure you rub off any of the fluffy bits. Chop them roughly (no need to peel or core), put them in a pan with about 2-3cm of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until they are soft & pulpy. Sieve the quinces & weigh the resulting pulp. Put the pulp back into the (cleaned) pan & add an equal weight of sugar. Bring this slowly to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer on a medium heat for at least 1 hour until the mixture is very very thick (the spoon leaves a clear line across the bottom of the pan). Stir often to stop the mixture from sticking. Meanwhile, line your baking tins with baking parchment. When the mixture is thick enough, pour into the pans to a depth of 2-3cm. Leave to dry in a warmish room (or airing cupboard) for 3-4 days, then cut into squares with a sharp knife you've dipped into very hot water and then dried. Put the squares into a box with a couple of spoons of caster sugar (a few at a time) and shake so that they are coated in sugar, then layer them in airtight boxes between greaseproof paper. They will keep (and mature) for up to 1 year. These are good with coffee as an after dinner treat. For the comfits in the photo we used a heart shaped silicon mould. A fiddle to turn them out, but very effective. | |||
