Welcome to the grapevine mat.

I understand that the spanish for Quince is marmelo and it's thought to be the origin of the word Marmalade. (Unless you go for the Mary Queen of Scots yokking up with sea-sickness and her ladies saying 'Marie est malade' when all she could keep down was orange preserve).
They should be ripe about now - they are very fragrant when they're ripe. I have a recipe for Quince and Lemon marmalade - the lemons help it to set.

1 lb lemons
3 lb ripe quinces
2.5 pints water
3 lb sugar

Cut away the yellow zest of the lemons and cut it into fine shreds. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice out and put these to one side.
Keep the pulp, pips and pith from the lemons.
Peel and core the quinces. Put the rind and cores with the pith etc of the lemons and tie them all in a bit of muslin.
Cut the quince pulp into small strips or dice, add half the leomn juice and keep the container covered to keep the fruit a good colour.
Put the shredded lemon rind and the bag of gubbins into the water and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the sliced or diced quince flesh and simmer until soft. Remove the muslin bag and add the sugar and the rest of the lemon juice Stir over a low heat till the sugar is dissolved then boil rapidly till the setting point is reached. Cool slightly then stir to distribute the fruit. Put into hot jars and seal.

You can use 1lb sweet oranges instead of the lemons but add an extra 4 tablespoons lemon juice to help set.

Recipes from 'Jams, Chutneys, Preserves, Vinegars and Oils' by Marguerite Patten.

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vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Aug 29th 2008