Ginger Rhubarb Cordial, for summer patio fun

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. – Sam Keen

We are most definitely in the depths of summer, so some laziness must be called for. Speaking of laziness, here’s one I’ve been keeping in the hopper for quite a while, and I apologize. I made this about a month ago.

You can probably still find rhubarb in the vegetable department of the grocery – most certainly in the freezer section. You may even be able to rustle up enough from your back yard, if you haven’t let your rhubarb go to seed.

Rhubarb is an easy-to-grow backyard plant. Many homes in city, town and country have a small patch somewhere. Some patches are decades old.

There’s even ornamental rhubarbs that can make quite a dramatic statement in the flower border. I wouldn’t recommend using an ornamental rhubarb for this recipe. Probably would be very dangerous. They’re relatives to garden rhubarb, not siblings.

Speaking of danger, there is one about the garden-variety rhubarb, too. Never eat the leaves. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid, which in larger doses is poisonous. This means pets, too, so if fido or fluffy develop a penchant for rhubarb leaves call the vet (just to be safe).

I have posted a recipe for rhubarb liqueur in the past (2011), but this is for a cordial syrup. So for all you tea-totalers, you can easily add summer sparkle to soda and ice. 

If you’ve had a particularly stressful day or week, serve over ice with gin or vodka and soda.

You may want to double the recipe. It’s pretty good stuff...

Ginger Rhubarb Cordial

Prep: 10 min  |  Total time: 30 min  |  Yield: about 700ml

1-3/4 lbs rhubarb stalks (weigh them)

1-1/4 cups white sugar

1-1/4 cups water

1 lemon, zest and juice

3” piece of ginger, sliced

2 tsp citric acid

Wash and trim the ends off the rhubarb stalks and then cut into 1” pieces. Place in a pot with a well-fitting lid. You don’t want the liquid to evaporate away. Then add the sugar and water.

Cut the zest from the lemon and add to the pot, then squeeze in the juice. Don’t worry about seeds as the mixture will be strained later... Slice the unpeeled ginger into strips and add to the pot.

Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes.

After cooking stir to ensure all the rhubarb is mushy and broken up. Stir in the citric acid and let sit until cool enough to handle. The citric acid extends shelf life.

Place a sieve lined with doubled cheesecloth over a mixing bowl. Squeeze the rhubarb through the sieve, pressing down to extract as much juice as possible. 

If you’re over-zealous and some rhubarb pulp makes its way into the strained liquid you can re-strain or leave it. It will add some “texture” to your drinks (like orange juice with pulp...).

Discard the remaining solids. Pour the juice into a sterilized bottle and refrigerate. Use as you desire in mixed drinks with soda or tonic. 

The cordial will safely last for one week, refrigerated.

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Homemade Peppermint Syrup

An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do. – Dylan Thomas

Ok. This is post 11 of my 12 Posts of Christmas. That mean’s Christmas day is just around the corner. Shopping this weekend is going to be a nightmare. So why not make something at home to give?

Here’s a quickie that you can make in less than 1/2 hour. I had such success with the gingerbread syrup (see a few days ago) that I thought this would make a good companion for it when gifting this season.

Syrups are multi-purpose. Not only do they add unexpected delight in a steaming cup of coffee or cocoa or on ice cream, but they also fit more than comfortably in martinis or other mixed drinks.

How you use it is limited only by your imagination.

Syrups are not cheap to purchase. Because of the cost many people just don’t bother to buy them. They’re a bit of a luxury.

So why not give a homemade luxury gourmet gift this Christmas? It’s sure to be appreciated, and can be done essentially at the last minute.

If you’ve already bought presents for everyone on your list, you could whip up some syrups to make your holiday parties oh-so-interesting. Think of the smiles on the faces of guests when offered a gingerbread or peppermint martini. 

Photo: Elenadan, Flickr CCL

They would be certain to bring out the caroller in just about anyone. Deck those halls!

If you want to make a peppermint martini, try this:

2 oz vanilla vodka

1/2 oz white crème de menthe

1/2 oz peppermint syrup

candy canes, crushed or whole

lime, optional

1/2 oz cream, optional

Shake the vodka, crème de menthe and syrup with ice in a martini shaker. If using the cream include it when you shake.

Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a whole candy cane. If you’re fancy, crush a couple candy canes in a mortar and pestle to make a powder. Wet the rim of the glass with lime and then dip in the candy cane powder.

Mmmmm, festive. And dangerous!

Peppermint Syrup

Cook: 18-20 min  |  Yield: 2 x 375 ml

3 cups water

2-3/4 cups white sugar

1 tbsp peppermint extract

1 drop red food colouring

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil and let cook (without stirring) on full heat for 18-20 minutes. At the end of the time the temperature of  the liquid should be about 210°F.

Remove the pot from the heat, let cool slightly and then add the peppermint extract and food colouring.

Bottle and refrigerate.

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Give memories with Gingerbread Syrup

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it “white.” – Bing Crosby 

Post number two in my anti-shopping Christmas extravaganza. This one’s a syrup that can be used just as easily in a cup of coffee as a Christmas-themed martini.

What is Christmas about anyway, besides the religious aspects? Isn’t memories what we’re really trying to wrap in paper and bows for Christmas? That’s what we really are trying to box up and gift.

Before boiling.

For example, just think of late mornings in winter, sitting in the warmth of your kitchen or local coffee shop looking out over a snowy street, sipping flavoured coffee and talking with a special friend. You remember that for far longer than what Aunt Martha gave you two years ago.

Those coffees set you back a pretty penny. But flavoured syrups are unbelievably easy to make at home. They also are inexpensive, and impressive, gifts.

If you want to give memories, you should think seriously about making a few syrups this Christmas. Ingredients for homemade syrups are easily obtainable, depending on what you want to make, and you can have them boiled and bottled in no time at all. 

Chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, peppermint… they’re all a breeze. If you can put sugar and water in a pot you can make gourmet syrups.

After boiling. Just slightly brown.

For example, to make peppermint syrup just boil equal parts water and sugar as outlined below and then add as many drops of peppermint extract (or melt candy canes in it as it boils!) as you like. Unbelievably easy.

This one tastes like gingerbread. The flavours are ginger, cinnamon stick and clove – just like the cookies and cake.

The only real expense to make these as gifts are the bottles. I used my usual 375 ml liqueur bottles with cork stoppers, at about $1/bottle. Tie with a bow and you're done.

Don’t be stingy with your container sizes. Each cup of coffee needs about one to two tablespoons to flavour properly. It’s such a nice and useful present to receive it’s sure to go quickly. Maybe write the recipe on a card so recipients can make more of their own!

The recipe below yields two bottles, but feel free to increase it if you wish. It’s the temperature that’s important to turn the sugar and water into a beautiful, thick syrup.

Gingerbread Syrup

Prep: 2 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Yield 2 x 375 ml

3 cups water

2-3/4 cups granulated sugar

2” piece of fresh ginger, sliced

3x 3” cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

If you're doubling or tripling this recipe you need to use a candy thermometer to make sure the correct temperature is reached.

Combine all the ingredients in a pot.  Bring to a boil and let cook for 20 minutes. The temperature should be between 215°F to 220°F for "thread" stage.

After temperature has been reached, strain the solids from the syrup, stir in the vanilla and bottle.

Place a piece of the cinnamon stick and a few of the cloves from the pot in each bottle. This will deepen the spiciness of the syrup over time.

Refrigerate until ready to use. This will keep for at least 1 month.

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Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup for Summer Drinks

What is the most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine. – Susan Sontag

No the colour has not been altered. This is a "soda and rose" au naturel.

Girls – get out your fancy drinks glasses. Summer officially starts today. Here’s a recipe that you’ll just HAVE to make for all those patio parties.

Today's victim, rosa rugosa. Watch out for bees.

I shouldn’t generalize about what’s feminine and masculine like that. I suppose boys too, but probably less likely.

I’m drinking it, but I’m not what many would consider normal. I’m not afraid of pink things. In fact I’m wearing a hot pink polo right now – gasp!

And pink this syrup is. But besides being pink, it is also very floral, a little bit herbal and good.

It’s a simple syrup made from probably the most common rose in Nova Scotia besides wild roses – rosa rugosa. Those are the old fashioned ones that grow around many older homes. Very dependable, very aromatic and a very strong bloomer.

A common ingredient

I've made a few things from the petals before. We have three rugosa on our property and so does my mother. Two of ours are white and one is the classic magenta. I’ve made a few liqueurs from various roses before and posted on this blog. Search “rose.” 

This time I thought I would show you how to make a rose-infused syrup. So if you don’t agree with alcohol consumption, or if you're unable (like preggers), you can enjoy this too. Use your imagination – use this anywhere that you would another syrup.

The best time to pick rose petals is a couple hours after sunrise once the petals dry off from any dew. This is also the time when the bees and other beasties are working as well. 

About 4 cups, plus some sprigs of lemon thyme.

Watch out when you pick the petals. Memories of putting mud on childhood bee stings (an old method to take away the pain) came flooding back. Don’t know if it helps, but we used to do it.

It should go without saying, but never uses roses that have been sprayed with pesticide. This includes store-bought bouquets. They are edible, but even if you wash them you’ll never be certain all the pesticide is gone.

It’s a good idea to wash ones you pick too, just to get off any surface dirt and clear out any lurking creepy crawlies.

Easy as one, two thee...

To make this amazing syrup all you do is 1) combine the ingredients, 2) simmer and 3) strain. There’s a reason it’s called simple syrup. I added some lemon thyme sprigs to give it a bit of herbal edge. Rose can be somewhat “cloying.” So remember that when mixing up a drink, too.

This syrup would work wonders in rose martinis, or on any other cocktail that needs a floral punch. I believe later on it will get a workout with vodka and club soda.

Try it in a rose gin and tonic. I would use tonic water but I have an allergic reaction to quinine. Not nice to have anxiety attacks.

To test drive the syrup I added it to plain soda and ice. After all, it’s only 11am as I write... My gosh, this is pink. Unbelievably pink.

Mix together, gently boil for 15 minutes, and strain out the solids.

Yield is 2 cups of sweet, pink "gold."

Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Yield: 2 cups

4 cups lightly packed rose petals, about 10 roses

1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, depending on thickness of syrup you want. 

Strain the syrup through a fine sieve, like a reusable metal coffee filter. Press the petals to release all the oils. Let cool and bottle.

Add to a martini or cocktail (shaken or stirred), or combine with soda and ice for a floral, herbal, refreshing summer drink.

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How to make Cola Syrup

Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility. – Robin Morgan 

This is my result. I used some of my soda mother and rum. Homemade rum 'n coke!

Our Prime Minister could take a lesson from that statement... Or does. He seems to like to keep all the information to himself.

But speaking of lessons, here’s something that may very well put your weekend rum and cokes on the neighbourhood map. And it’s not very difficult to pull off. Make your own homemade cola syrup. It’s tasty.

This could also be used with the homemade soda I posted two days ago to make your own soda!

Quite a concoction of different botanicals and soices.

Cola was invented in the mid-1800 by a US Civil War veteran from Atlanta, John Pemberton. He came back from war addicted to morphine and his cola recipe was a way to try to cure himself of his addiction. His recipe had cocaine in it. It was called “coca cola.”

That’s one way to cure an addiction, I suppose. Swap it out for another. It was originally sold by Mr. Pemberton at his pharmacy as a medicine. By 1888, three versions of cola were being marketed by three different companies. 

Mr. Pemberton’s company, and his recipe, was subsequently turned into what is now the Coca-Cola company. 

The actual formulation is—as you can well imagine—a closely guarded secret. Supposedly two people know the exact recipe at any one time and they are not allowed to fly in the same airplane. (I have suspicion that is a charming story but nothing more.)

A radio program “This American Life” came across a 1979 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that talked about the history of coca-cola and had a photo of Pemberton’s handwritten recipe. 

It received little attention at the time, but this may have very well been a photo of the recipe that Pemberton used – and maybe the source of the recipe used today by Coca-Cola.

If you would like to read more and see the picture look here: 

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe

Regardless, homemade cola syrup is a wonderful thing. It has hints of vanilla, with spice, citrus and floral accents. I bet you didn’t know that cola was so complex!

Everything is pretty easy to find except for the lavender flowers, which do make a significant contribution. I know of three sources locally in Halifax: the Seaport Farmers Market, Pete’s Frootique, and Planet Organic.

The demerara sugar is important as it imparts the dark color and some molasses flavours. Buy just the amount you need at the Bulk Barn. It’s good in coffee, too. Everything in the recipe is there for a reason. It seems strange, but it works.

After straining.

Homemade Cola Syrup*

4 cups spring water

zest of 3 large navel oranges

zest of 4 large limes

zest of 2 large lemons

1” stick of cinnamon bark

1 tsp grated nutmeg

1 Star Anise (whole)

1 tsp dried lavender flowers

2” piece fresh ginger, sliced thinly

3” piece vanilla bean

2 cups demerara sugar

Bring all the syrup ingredients together to a boil in a pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Let the mixture sit for one hour and then strain. 

Chill the resulting syrup and combine it 1part syrup to 4 parts soda water.

This really tastes like a cola. It might not be “the real thing” cola but it’s more than acceptable!

People WILL ask you what their rum and coke is mixed with, and then ask for the recipe!

*Recipe adapted from Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, New York (published online at www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/dining/cola-syrup-recipe.html?_r=1).

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Warm Your Bones: Spiced Ginger Syrup

It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. – Chinese Proverb

375 ml of winter blues "cure"

What a day so far. First I couldn’t get a connection to the internet so I gave up trying to write my daily post at my usual time of 6:30 am. It's my first daily task and I love it.

Sadly I had another first daily task waiting for me. Snow shovelling. Not my favourite activity. Actually, I hate it.

Perhaps hate is too strong a word, but it’s close. Anyone who has to shovel their driveway every time the snow plough goes by knows exactly what I mean. It’s like trying to stop waves on a beach.

So what do you? Curse winter and the snow? Temporary pleasure, but it won’t have much effect. So I guess a person should light a candle, so to say.

This particular “candle” is something that you can put in your coffee or hot chocolate during a break from all that shovelling.

I made a few syrups for gifts over the Holidays. But they’re so simple to make you really have no excuse to not have at least one hanging around throughout the winter. They only take about 20 minutes.

This variation has loads of ginger, with some spiciness via one large whole chilli, a hint of liquorice from star anise, and some warming cardamom thrown in for good measure.

Ginger has a long list of medicinal benefits. Just a few are: antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-inflamatory, antiseptic, anti-fungal, analgesic, expectorant... This is just a partial list, remember.

It’s fantastic in coffee, and only takes a tablespoon to really impart the taste. The heat of the coffee (or hot chocolate) makes it aromatic too. 

Since this is a syrup you could also whip some into full fat cream for an interesting dessert topping. Or – if you must– this wold be a great flavouring for some winter season martinis!

So after that fifth outing shovelling, why not curl up in front of the fireplace with a pitcher of ginger martinis… I mean a hot cup of ginger coffee… and relax!

Spiced Ginger Syrup

Cook: 20 min  |  Yield: 375 ml

1-3/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 cup water

1 cup chopped fresh ginger

1 whole dried red chilli pepper

1/2 whole star anise

10 green cardamom pods

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the spices and let boil for 20 minutes.

Strain the solids from the syrup and place in a sterilized bottle. 

If gifting, add the chilli, a piece of the anise and a few of the cardamom pods to the bottle. This will develop the intensity of those flavours over the time it is stored.

If refrigerated, the syrup will last one to two months.

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Gifting: Best Butterscotch Sauce

He who eats with most pleasure is he who least requires sauce. – Xenophon 

Sauce, a jar and a spoon. A perfect small gift that won't break the bank.

Although true for the most part, I certainly can’t picture a banana spit without strawberry, chocolate and butterscotch sauce. Mmmm, butterscotch.

Butter. Scotch. There’s a reason why those two words are in the name of this delicious topping.

Before boiling.

In my mind you have to use Scotch. It’s like making seafood chowder with no seafood. It’s just not right.

In truth, butterscotch is a sweet delight that contains only brown sugar and butter, although corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt are common in recipes. Actual Scotch in butterscotch recipes is a little harder to find.

There are several theories on the origin of the name “butterscotch.” One is a connection to Scotland. Another that the word Scotch was derived from “Scorch.” The word "butterscotch" was first recorded in 1817 by a candy maker in Doncaster, UK. Doncaster certainly isn’t in Scotland, but at least it’s in the same country.

Butterscotch is a cousin of toffee, the difference is butterscotch is boiled to the soft crack stage instead of hard crack. Butterscotch sauce is most commonly used as a topping for ice cream. But it can be used in other ways as well, for example drizzled on whipped cream on cocoa or coffee.

About a minute before total cooking time.

This recipe is a breeze and makes picture perfect gifts. I bought two jars and two nice spoons at the Dollarstore. Yes, some Dollarstores have decent, heavy cutlery. Combined, they make a lovely little hostess (or host) gift that anyone would be happy to receive.

The recipe comes together in about 12-15 minutes, including boiling and cooling. I know. I made this twice. The ingredients listed below make 350 ml of butterscotch. The jars I bought were 330 ml.

Since this was the first time I made this I thought I would err on the side of caution and make one jar. If it was an abject failure I wouldn’t be wasting all the ingredients.

It wasn’t an abject failure. Quite the contrary. The recipe makes a dark brown butterscotch, almost like a light chocolate sauce.

If you prefer a lighter coloured sauce, use light brown sugar and white corn syrup.

I’m not sure who’s going to get these cute little pots yet, but I’m sure I’ll find someone deserving of my minimal effort!

I used Johnnie Walker Red, because it was on
hand. Any good Scotch can be used.

Best Butterscotch Sauce

Cook: 8 min  | Yield: 350ml

1-1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed*

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup butter

3 tbsp golden corn syrup*

1/4 cup whisky

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the sugar, cream, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium (still boiling) and let cook for 8 minutes. Stir often.

At the end of the 8 minutes the sugar will be completely dissolved, the bubbles will be light but the underlying liquid will be thick and dark.

Let cool for about 5 minutes. Then stir in the Scotch and vanilla.

Pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate. The sauce will thicken considerably when chilled.

If you wish, heat the sauce slightly before serving for a warm topping on ice cream, cake, etc.

* For a lighter coloured butterscotch, use light brown sugar and white corn syrup.

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Gourmet Homemade Gift: Peppermint Syrup

I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, after four I'm under my host. – Dorothy Parker

Syrupy goodness for your next martini?

Here’s a quickie that you can make in less than 1/2 hour. I  had such success with the gingerbread syrup (see yesterday's post) that I thought this would make a good companion for it when gifting this season.

All you need is sugar, water and peppermint extract.
The drop of red food colouring is optional, but nice.

Syrups are multi-purpose. Not only do they add unexpected delight in a steaming cup of coffee or cocoa, but they also fit more than comfortably in martinis or other mixed drinks.

How you use it is limited only by your imagination.

Syrups are not cheap to purchase. Because of the cost many people just don’t bother to buy them. They’re a bit of a luxury.

So why not give a homemade luxury gourmet gift this Christmas? It’s sure to be appreciated, and can be done essentially at the last minute.

If you’ve already bought presents for everyone on your list, you could whip up some syrups to make your holiday parties oh-so-interesting. Think of the smiles on the faces of guests when offered a gingerbread or peppermint martini. 

They would be certain to bring out the caroller in just about anyone. Deck those halls!

If you want to make a peppermint martini, try this:

2 oz vanilla vodka

1/2 oz white crème de menthe

1/2 oz peppermint syrup

candy canes, crushed or whole

lime, optional

1/2 oz cream, optional

Shake the vodka, crème de menthe and syrup with ice in a martini shaker. If using the cream include it when you shake.

Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a whole candy cane. If you’re fancy, crush a couple candy canes in a mortar and pestle to make a powder. Wet the rim of the glass with lime and then dip in the candy cane powder.

Mmmmm, festive. And dangerous!

Peppermint Syrup

Cook: 20 min  |  Yield: 2 x 375 ml

3 cups water

2-3/4 cups white sugar

1 tbsp peppermint extract

1 drop red food colouring

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil and let cook (without stirring) on full heat for 18-20 minutes. At the end of the time the temperature of  the liquid should be about 210°F.

Remove the pot from the heat, let cool slightly and then add the peppermint extract and food colouring.

Bottle and refrigerate.

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Gifting: Gingerbread Syrup

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. – Khalil Gibran 

Although usually used in coffee, this would just as easily live in a martini or cocktail.

Here’s an amazingly simple gift that easily defines comfort and relaxation. Think of late mornings in winter, sitting in the warmth of your favourite coffee shop looking out over the snowy street, sipping flavoured coffee and talking with a special friend.

Before boiling.

Those coffees set you back a pretty penny. So can the friend, but that would be an entirely different post.

But more to my point, flavoured syrups are unbelievably easy to make at home. They also are inexpensive, and impressive gifts.

If you want to make an impact, you should think seriously about making  a few syrups this Christmas. There’s lots of flavours to choose to make—just take a look at the lineup at Starbucks.

Ingredients for homemade syrups are easily obtainable, depending on what you want to make, and you can have them bottled in no time at all. 

Chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, peppermint… they’re all a breeze. If you can boil and flavour sugar and water you can make gourmet syrups.

After simmering. Just barely brown.

For example, to make peppermint syrup, just boil equal parts water and sugar as outlined below and then add as many drops of peppermint extract as you like. Unbelievably easy.

This one’s a gingerbread syrup, in keeping with the season. The flavours are ginger, cinnamon stick and clove. Just like the cookies and cake.

The only real expense to make these as gifts would be decorative bottles. I used my usual liqueur bottles with cork stoppers, at about $1/bottle.

Don’t gift the syrup in too small a container. Each cup of coffee would need about one to two tablespoons to flavour. It’s such a nice and useful present to receive it’s sure to go quickly!

Of course coffee is the usual use, but certainly not the only one. It just as easily would lift a martini or other cocktail out of the ordinary to take those holiday parties to new heights!

Gingerbread Syrup

Prep: 2 min  |  Cook: 20 min  |  Yield 2 x 375 ml

3 cups water

2-3/4 cups granulated sugar

2” piece of fresh ginger, sliced

3x 3” cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a pot. 

Bring to a boil and let cook  for 20 minutes. The temperature should be about 210°F.

After 20 minutes, strain the solids from the syrup, stir in the vanilla and bottle.

Place a piece of the cinnamon stick and a few of the cloves from the pot in each bottle. This will deepen the spiciness over time.

Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for at least 1 month.

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Breakfast Foraging: Flowering Quince Jam

The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today. – Lewis Carroll, from Alice in Wonderland

The longer I live, the more I learn, thankfully. For instance, I always thought that flowering quince had only two qualities: garden decoration in springtime, and the property of never being able to be gotten rid of.

One of my victims in its natural habitat.

We have two running battles in the country with flowering quince, one at my mothers and one at my great aunts.

It seems that if you cut them it just makes them angry. They come back with a vengeance,and send suckers many, many feet out from the “offended” plant. "Hardy" is an understatement.

Now I’m glad that I know they’re not quite as useless as I thought. You can use the fruit to make jam (and also to flavour liqueur, so I have been told).

Everyone knows the bush I’m talking about. It’s actually quite breathtaking in bloom – literally covered with hot-pink flowers. This bush's botanical name is Chaenomeles speciosa..

There is another quince that is grown specifically for fruit. That one’s Cydonia oblonga. Note the different first names – the two are different species. But both are in the family Rosaceae. That family includes apples and pears. Cydonia are not winter hardy in Nova Scotia, being Asian natives,so if you see true quince in the store they have travelled far.

Flowering quince blossoms. Photo: fyrefiend, Flickr ccl

Any recipe that uses quince can use flowering quince fruit. The flowering quince fruit is smaller, so if a recipe calls for a specific number of fruit be aware that you’ll need more. True quinces can be the size of apples.

You can "forage" your flowering quince from your own, or your neighbour's bush. They probably won't have a use for them and will look at you strangely when you ask to pick.

I foraged my quince from my uncle’s tree and a couple off our scraggly stems trying desperately to survive my attempts at murder. The quince off our bush was very small, like an egg; the others were the size of small lemons.

Because of our growing season don’t expect the quince to be ripe as you would expect an apple to be ripe. They will be as hard as rocks – and almost as difficult to deal with. They also will be somewhat green outside. If you can pick ones that have started to yellow.

It’s also best to wait until the frost hits them once or twice. This helps develop the internal sugars. But don’t try to bite into one. It will either break your teeth, or suck all the saliva out of your mouth. They are unbelievably astrigent. If you smell a quince it should have an pleasant, unusual floral aroma. This translates into your jam.

The inside of the fruit is quite white and the core is a little
difficult to remove. My quince is the orangey one.

I’m actually quite amazed that such a nice jam can be made from something so unpromising. When you're making the jam it does a magic trick close to the end of cooking time. It turns from yellow to quite a lovely orangey red.

Kind of odd, the jam turns almost the same colour as the flowers. Certainly not the colour of the fruit...

Quince makes a very old-fashioned and unusual jam. It has a bright flavour that is unlike anything else. It also is not overly sweet which makes it very different than other jams and jellies.

Quince are high in natural pectin so all you need is the fruit, sugar and water. They also contain more Vitamin C than lemons.

Note, I used some decorative little cage-top jars that I found at the Dollar Store for my jam. The directions call for canning jars with lids. Since I can’t be absolutely sure mine are sealed, I have to refrigerate them.

Flowering Quince Jam

This is the chopped fruit, just when it's starting to be cooked.
Thanks goodness for food processors.

Prep: 45 min  |  Cook: 45 min to 1 hour  |  Yield: 3+ cups 
Adapted from Simply Recipes

4 cups finely chopped flowering quince (between 5-7 fruit)

3-1/2 cups water

juice of one orange

zest of one orange 

3 1/2 cups sugar
*1/4 cup Grand Marnier (optional)

Unless you are used to making jelly, use a candy thermometer for this.

To prepare the quinces first wash the fruit well and remove any obvious blemishes. (The ones I picked had some dark spots on the skin, which I didn’t remove. Bruises were removed.)

Quarter the quince and cut out the cores. This may take some doing. They are very hard. 

Chop the quince in a food processor – or a chef’s knife – into small pieces. Measure out 4 packed cups of fruit.

This is the actual colour it turned. Amazing.

Place the quince, water, orange zest and juice in a stock pot. Simmer for 10 minutes to soften the flesh. then add the sugar, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low.

Cook the quince until a thermometer reads 220°F. This is the jelly stage. It may take 45 minutes; it may take an hour; it may take longer. 

Stir occasionally to ensure the jam doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Skim off any "scum" that forms on the surface.

Once ready, prepare your canning jars by sterilizing the glass, rings and lids in very hot water. Fill the jars leaving a little head room. Place the tops on and tighten the rings on top.

Turn upside down and let sit on the counter for 1/2 hour. Flip over and let cool completely. The lid should be dimpled down to show that the jars are vacuum sealed. If they aren’t, refrigerate. Better safe than sorry.

* If adding the Grand Marnier, stir it in after the jam has reached 220°F and is off the heat. The extra liquid will make a slightly softer jam but I wouldn't worry. It certainly won't make it runny.

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