Kick In The Pants Studio

Adapted for the Slow Cooker

In the backyard of my childhood home there is short, thorny tree that erupts with deep coral blossoms in the springtime and bears a sticky, golden fruit in the fall. Every October, my tiny Persian grandmother would come pick the fruit, and through her alchemy, render the most delicious jam. (For readers not familiar with quince, it is a relative of both the apple and pear and is native to Iran and Turkey.) Wanting to maintain a sense of connection to my heritage, I had a quince tree planted in the backyard of my home, and now I make quince jam for my daughter. I have discovered that cooking the fragrant, spiced dishes that my grandmother made reconnects me to my younger self and has been a conduit for nurturing the parts of me I neglected in the latter years of my marriage.

Ingredients:

5–6 large quince
2–3 c. sugar (can be adjusted to taste)
3 whole cardamom pods
1 lemon
2 T rose water
3 c. hot water

Instructions:

1. Turn on the slow cooker and set to high
2. Add the 3 cups of hot water and 2 cups of sugar to the slow cooker.
3. Remove skin from cardamom seeds and crush in mortar and pestle or chop with knife and add to slow cooker.
4. Rinse the quince and cut off any brown or undesirable spots. Core, seed and coarsely chop into large pieces. Add to slow cooker.
5. Cut lemon and juice half into slow cooker.
6. Seal with lid and cook on high for 3–4 hours or until jam has reached desired consistency.
7. Turn off heat and stir in rose water and zest of the other half of the lemon.
8. Ladle hot jam into sterilized jars and tighten lids.
9. Refrigerate until ready to use.