Quince & orange marmalade

Reputedly, the original marmalade was a preserve made from quinces, and the name comes from the word marmelo, the Portuguese word for this fruit. Quince seems to be a long-forgotten fruit, not often found for sale, although you may come across it in Mediterranean food stores. If you have a quince tree, use these wonderful fruits with orange to make a delicious marmalade. The quinces are cooked very slowly to intensify their flavor and bring out the best in them—use the oven on the lowest setting, or cook the marmalade in a slow cooker for a similar result.

MAKES: about 4¼ cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds quinces, fur washed off
• 3 small oranges
• warmed sugar (for quantity see step 5)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the fruits in a lidded casserole dish (use a second casserole if they won’t all fit into one) and pour in enough boiling water to cover the fruits so they just begin to float. Put on the lid and slow cook in the oven for 6–8 hours, or overnight, or cook in a slow cooker.
2. Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle. Strain the liquid through a colander into a pan. Peel the quinces, quarter them, and remove the cores, then place the skins and cores in with the cooking liquid. Cut 2 of the oranges in half, scoop out the flesh, and add the seeds and pith to the liquid as well. Put the peel to one side.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and reduce it down to about a third or a half of the original quantity. Pour the reduced mixture through a sieve into a preserving pan.
4. Cut the quinces into chunky slices about ¾ inch in diameter and ½ inch thick. Slice the whole orange into thin rounds and chop the empty orange halves into fine shreds.
5. Measure the quinces, orange slices, and shredded rind, add them to the reduced mixture, and warm through. Add the same volume of warmed sugar and stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, taking care to keep the orange slices intact, then turn up the heat and boil rapidly to
   reach setting point. Skim if necessary.
6. Remove the orange slices with a slotted spoon and use them to decorate the insides of the hot, sterilized jars by standing them on end against the glass. Pour the marmalade into the jars and seal.