Quince Camp Jam
Dried quince and sugar simmered back into a thick spoonable syrup at camp.
- calories
- 270
- weight
- 2.4 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried quince cubes | 1 cup | peeled, cut small, dried at home; skins and cores go in a separate bag |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1/3 cup | white sugar sets clearer than brown |
| Dried quince peel and cores | from 1 fruit | optional, in a small mesh bag or tied in gauze |
| Water | 250 ml |
Method
- Pour 250 ml of water into the pot with the quince cubes and the peel bag if you brought one. Let it sit ten minutes off the heat so the fruit takes on water.
- Bring it to a boil, then back the flame off to the lowest it will hold. Simmer about ten minutes, until a cube crushes against the pot wall with a spoon.
- Pull out the peel bag and squeeze it against the side of the pot. Stir in the sugar.
- Simmer another three to five minutes, stirring, until the syrup coats the spoon and a track stays open behind it for a second.
- Kill the heat and let it stand. It thickens more as it cools, and it goes from pale to amber sitting there.
Quince is hard and astringent raw, which is why it almost always ends up cooked in syrup. Dried at home it becomes trail food: the cubes rehydrate in about ten minutes and the sugar goes in at the end, once they are already soft.
The peel and cores carry most of the pectin, so simmering them in a bag is what makes the syrup set instead of staying watery. Skip them and you get sweet fruit in sugar water, which is fine but not jam. Adding the sugar late matters for the same reason a canning recipe adds it late: sugar in the pot early firms the fruit and it never gives up.
Packing
Quince cubes and the peel bag in one bag, sugar in another. Sugar added early stops the fruit softening, so keep them apart until the pot is boiling.
Variations
- A stub of cinnamon or two cloves in the simmer, fished out before the sugar.
- Spoon it over instant oats or couscous to turn dessert into breakfast.
- Cut the sugar by half and thin with more water for a hot drink.
https://savoriurbane.com/dulceata-de-gutui-pentru-iarna-fara-conservant