Quince Preserves - Greek Spoon Sweet

Sterilize The Jars:

1. Wash them well with soap and water. Without letting them dry, place them on a pan that you have covered with a clean tea towel. Then place the pan in a preheated 160°C /320°F oven for 15 minutes.

Prepare Quinces:

1. Quince is a hard fruit so you will need a really sharp peeler and knife to cut it.
2. Remove the skin of the quinces using a vegetable peeler. Cut them in half, and then each piece in half again. Cut and discard the center containing the seeds.
3. There are two ways to cut quince for making a spoon sweet. One is to cut it with a knife into small strips of about ¾ of an inch long and ⅓ of an inch thick (1 ½cm long and ½ cm thick). Some pieces won't look much like strips but that's okay. And the other way which is widely used around Greece is to cut it with a box grater using the larger grating holes. You can use whatever way is easier for you. The results will be more or less the same. Using the knife method, you will get chunkier uneven pieces while using the box grater will give a smoother even texture to the final result. The softness or crispness of the fruit will depend more on the cooking time and not so much on the size the fruit is cut.

Make The Spoon-Sweet:

1. Add the quince pieces to a large cooking pot. It's okay if they have gotten dark in color by the time you finished preparing them. Cooking them will fix this.
2. Add 150 ml of water to the pot as well. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to medium-low and put the lid on the pot. Let simmer this way until the fruit has gotten completely soft. It takes approximately 45 minutes, but this will depend also on how ripe the quinces are, and how strong the heat of your kitchen stove is. So keep an eye on, especially towards the last minutes of cooking to make sure there is enough moisture within the pot so the fruit won't stick at the bottom. If needed, add a splash more water.Note: To properly tenderize quince you need to let it steam cook that's why it is cooked completely covered and with just enough water in the pot to create the desired moisture.
3. Once the fruit is cooked and softened, add the sugar to the pot, along with 300 ml of water, the lemon juice, and the lemon geranium leaves if you are using them (see post above for alternative flavorings).
4. Simmer over medium heat partly covered for about 30 to 40 minutes. Until the syrup looks nice and thick. To check if the syrup is at the right consistency, take a little plate and add a spoonful of the spoon-sweet to it. Within minutes, it will cool down to room temperature and you'll be able to see how thick the syrup is. It shouldn't be too runny just nice and thick. The texture of a spoon-sweet is a tad runnier than that of a jam and the syrup should be just enough to cover the fruit.
5. Transfer the preserves to the sterilized jars while it's still hot, leaving ¼ of an inch (½ cm) space from the lid. Then flip the jars upside down to airlock and let them cool down like this at room temperature. Store in a dark cupboard for up to 1 year or in the fridge. Note that the fruit tends to get harder when refrigerated.