Quince Liqueur
This recipe for quince liqueur is adapted a bit from ‘Wielksa Ksiega Nalewek‘, one of a number of large Polish liqueur books.* It uses a double infusion in hygroscopic liquids, one in alcohol and one in sugar - an unusual technique which tends to speed up the development of the liqueur.
It still develops quite slowly, due to the low surface area and permeability of the quince. Just leave it alone for a while. Put it on a shelf and admire how pretty it is. Forget it’s even drinkable, and soon enough, it will be.
Liqueurs are old fashioned, but inherently magical. that’s something I love about them. There’s an impossible romance about a collection of jars filled with something good from last season, or many years ago, covered in alcohol and slowed, but not stopped, by time.
Because they’re not particularly cool, there aren’t a huge number of good books in English on liqueur making (unless you want to make Skittle vodka, which I do not). But the Italians and Poles, in particular, have long and wonderful traditions both for good health and pleasure. And really, aren’t those so often the same thing?
I’ve omitted the addition of a small amount of high proof spirit from this recipe. It isn’t necessary and isn’t available in Australia in any case. Some similar recipes add cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest or all three. That sounds delicious, but quinces are complex and spicy and aromatic all on their own - they truly don’t need any assistance to be a thing of wonder.
1 kg quinces, peeled, cored, finely diced
1 litre vodka (40%)
1/2 kg sugar
Put the quince pieces and the vodka in a jar at least 1 1/2 litres large. You’ll want to submerge the pieces quickly as you work, and weigh them down with a pickle weight or a clean plastic bag filled with water: they are very tannic and therefore turn brown super fast. Leave in a dark place for six weeks.
After the six weeks are up, strain the vodka off into a bottle but keep the fruit; add them back to the jar with the sugar, and shake well every day until the sugar dissolves. At this point strain off the sugar liquid. Remove and discard the fruit, add the sugar liquid and the vodka back into the jar together, and let sit for around another three weeks. A sediment will form; siphon or carefully pour your liqueur off into new bottles.
