Maybe the title for this one should be, January stock. Here’s the count.
Quince that was cooked and milled stands ready in the freezer, and there’s enough fruit there too for one more batch of Concord grape. Concord grape is that transitional end of summer/early autumn fruit but for me it’s all autumn. Rhubarb juice, from late springtime rhubarb, for jelly in the freezer as well. There are fresh batches of cider sage jelly , and Meyer lemon rosemary on deck this week. Will make the latter as the temperature plummets to a high of 15, the bright citrus scents will be aromatherapy.
The fruits of summer are nearly gone. There are maybe a few jars of sour cherry preserve left at the Hillsdale General Store in Hillsdale and at Olde Hudson in Hudson. Strawberry preserve with Lapsang Suochong, gooseberry jelly and black raspberry preserve are finito til June/July, and rhubarb preserve with vanilla bean and Earl Grey til early spring.
A note on the new les collines quince preserve: if I do say so myself, it is FANTASTIC!! The new version based on cotignac d’Orleans is wonderful, a soft Membrillo in a jar with a bright, fresh flavor, heightened by the lemon juice and zest. The color, gorgeous pumpkin. Though there is still some ironing out to do. The Smyrna quince, smaller and less pectined, required longer cooking to set, and was more firm in the end– the color of one batch ended up closer to crimson than to pumpkin, but the flavor remains very bright, maybe one note deeper. Which one will be the favorite??
