Quince or Kwepers

Die ‘oumens vrug’, really reminds me of older people, not sure why but it does. To be honest, I don’t know much about quince, I hardly ate them until recently. I have had some quince jam before many years ago and I absolutely love it and never had it again.

Google quince and you get the following: “The quince is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae. It is a tree fruit that bears a deciduous pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and is bright golden-yellow when mature”. (I am still sticking to oumens vrug) Maybe it’s because older people like them so much.

It’s a versatile fruit and you can do a lot with it. I had my first raw quince over Easter weekend it tastes like a sour apple, you know those green once you get, but with very little taste, and it leaves your mouth dry. Punishment is the word that comes to mind.
What I can tell you about, is the process we took in preserving them and making some jam.

So let me start at the beginning I AM NOT A KITCHEN OR FOOD PERSON at all. I love eating but hate being in the kitchen and mense I don’t have a Kook en Geniet. I have decided to give this a go since that is what you do when you stay on a farm or let’s say this particular farm. For years Ouma Lenie worked in this kitchen and she was a legend in Koekenaap, my tannie-ma Ronel did ouma Lenie proud… the 3rd generation in the same kitchen, not so much.

Anyway, so you first need to peel these f%@^ing monsters and let me tell you there was a moerse lot of them. Our hands so saw, so red, it was not even funny. Then you boil them in water and sugar until soft but not pap (FYI sugar is not your friend when you are over a certain age, it’s the enemy) After it has been viciously poked with knives to make sure it’s the right amount of soft you remove them from the pot and leave the sugar water in the pot for the next batch to be boiled in. While the new batch is boiling you take 1st batch of boiled quince and put them in glass jars. Do not close the lids, you are not done yet. Repeat until all the quiches are boiled and in jars.

As you boil and add your new batch to the sugar water you will notice a colour difference, this is normal. Once all the quiches are in jars you then take the sugar water and fill the jars to the top and then you close the lids and you are done. I have no idea why but you put them upside down and let them cool down overnight.

The jam is more or less the same process, but different. Here you also peel, cut, and boil them. But you boil them until they are pap and very soft. Keeping them in the sugar water you then smash them until fine and transfer them to the jars. Put the lids on and let them cool down overnight. Again upside down.

Someone close to me asked if it felt rewarding looking at them once you are done. Looking back at the process and being a Stadskind… yes it does.

For your reading pleasure, I have added the Google link to all the quince info, recipes, and how-to’s you will ever need.