Looking out of my window, taking a break from editing, I see that our Japonica, our ornamental quince is even more burdened with blossom than it was a few weeks ago. The flowers just keep coming! I hope this is a sign that we will get a lot of fruit this year after a disappointing couple of years.
I made lovely quince jam, I used the fruit as dessert when poached, I made pastes and puddings, but I really want to make quince wine! I have never made wine before, but I have friends who have who could help me… so maybe this will be the year.
Apparently I need two lemons for every twenty-five quinces… big quinces? Little quinces? Medium sized quinces? and I will also need sugar, raisins and yeast. Another recipe I consult suggests only twenty fruit, another says more specifically 4lbs of quinces for two lemons and the sugar and the raisins… None of these recipes tell my how much I will end up with, but I do find one which says a gallon… a gallon… that’s a lot of wine… great if it’s nice, but supposing I don’t do it right and I have to throw it all away?
I posted recently that I had to throw away several pounds of green tomato chutney that I had made because it was horrid… I don’t want a repeat of that… but I do want to try quince wine… watch this space for further news on quince wine!!
Lois Elsden 