Before all of you lucky folks with quince trees use up the last of your 2011 fruits, I want to share this picture from my faithful correspondent Sheila, who lives in the wilds of northwest Connecticut and who was the first to tell me about both unpickled pickles and Paradise jelly.
Every fall I make a lot of quince paste, varying the recipe by adding other fruits, spices, or nuts. But I always end up cutting the paste into boring rectangles. For a fundraiser for her local historical society, Sheila got more creative: She cut her paste with cookie cutters into leaf shapes. Here are Sheila’s lovely sweetmeats, drying on parchment paper.
Instructions for making quince paste are in The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves.