Jam-Filled Muffins

The parking lot for the hiking trail in the village of Sirishtnik is a small square at the end of the village, near some abandoned houses. The people and the houses are now gone, but the fruit trees are still giving fruit and mid-November there were some scattered quinces on the grass under the quince tree at the end of the parking lot. Last year, when we hiked there more or less at the same time of year, we gathered a handful of fruits and made quince jam, which came out very aromatic and delicious.

This year the quince harvest was even bigger and we made almost a dozen and a half jars of jam, which should last us years :) Here is the method and recipe we applied this time:

The total amount of quinces we gathered was 3.5 kg. We washed them and put them in hot water to boil until soft, so that they would be easier to cut and clean. Then we took them out of the water (which we preserved), let them cool and cleaned them. After all cores were removed, the harvest yielded about 2.5 kg quince meat. To that we added about 1 l of the water, in which the fruit was cooked and blended them with a hand blender. Then we added 1.8 kg sugar to the mash and let it stay in a cool place for a couple of hours.

Once the sugar had completely melted and soaked in the quince mash, we added the juice of half a lime and brought the jam to cook at medium heat for an hour. once the jam was cooked, we poured the hot jam into the clean jars and turned them upside down to cool, no boiling of the jars is required.

I used the jam to make a batch of jam-filled muffins. This is probably my fifth batch of muffins with jam core lately. I've been experimenting with the batter and the filling method and though I wouldn't claim that I've nailed it, I am pretty happy with my latest results:

Ingredients for the muffins:

• 2 eggs
• 80 g sugar
• 200 g yogurt 
• 70 g sunflower oil
• 200 g flour 
• 5 g baking powder + a pinch of baking soda
• 5 g spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) + a pinch of salt 

Preparation:

Beat the eggs with the sugar, add the oil and yogurt and mix. Stir in the flour, mixed with the baking powder and the spices. Distribute the batter in 12 muffin forms. Place a teaspoon of jam in the center of each muffin form, stirring it lightly to push the jam inside the batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 min, until a toothpick test confirms readiness.

Enjoy with your fresh coffee or tea.

Quince Jam

In Bulgaria jams are usually made in the season of fruits - from June to October. It is a bit unusual to be making jam on a cold and snowy December day, but a couple of days ago I happened on some lovely quinces at the local farmers' market. They were not cheap, but they looked so yellow and ripe, that I was tempted to buy 2.5 kg for jam. 

I'm not particularly appreciative of quinces, but my husband absolutely loves quince jam and compote and was feeling regretful that we had somehow missed the season and he wouldn't have his favourite jam this winter. 

The quinces I bought turned out an absolute score - perfect not only outside, but inside, ripe and aromatic and 2.5 kg of fruit yielded 2.3 kg of cut and cleaned product - almost no waste. We actually collected and froze the parts with the seeds of the fruit, because a hot sweetened infusion of the quince seeds is a really effective mild treatment for coughs - a proven traditional medicine, so truly no waste product.

My recipe for quince jam:

• 2.5 kg fruit gross (2.3 kg nett)
• 2.3 kg sugar
• 250 ml water
• 1 stick of cinnamon bark
  
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Clean and cut the fruit, cover with the sugar, add 1 cup water and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. On the next day add a stick of cinnamon bark and bring the fruit to boil, until all of the sugar has melted.  Turn off the heat and leave the pot for a couple of hours on the hot plate, until the quince pieces have softened. Mash the fruit with a hand blender until you've got a smooth puree. Turn on the hot plate on medium heat and cook the jam, stirring the puree to prevent burning. When the puree thickens, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and cook for additional couple of minutes. Pour the hot jam into clean jars and turn the tight closed jars upside down immediately. No need for additional sterilization. The jam will keep for at least two years.

Quince Picking

Just a few pictures from this past Sunday outing to a friends' country house. The quinces were just ripe, so we gathered a crate. We are not very keen on eating fresh quinces, but they are quite delicious in the form of compote or jam.

The house is in the Lyulin mountain, so Gabi and I went for a walk in the fields around and gathered some rose hips and hawthorn berries too for fresh berry tea.

When picked carefully, quinces can last for quite a long time, so I'll have fresh quinces at hand for quince compote for at least two or three months. These beauties are destined to be the victims of today's dessert :)))