How to cook Marmelada

Marmelada, Marmalade, Jam and Jelly… If you watched this YouTube video you probably noticed I used the term Marmelada to describe the process of making a sweet spread or jam from quinces. If you're in a hurry and desperately need the recipe scroll down. This will take a while.
Some 10.000 years ago the sugar cane started to be domesticated in New Guinea and Southeast Asia. It was then taken further North until it reached Northern India. The Indians discovered and developed the process of extracting sugar out of the sugar cane. It was where the Chinese became acquainted with the process. Through trade routes sugar reached the Mediterranean civilizations.

Quinces originate in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They were grown in Babylon and used by the Ancient Greeks. The Portuguese word for quince is marmelo. This word has its origins in the Greek and Roman words for this type of fruit. The word marmalade has the same origin. Around the fourth century of our era the preservation of foods using sugar was already known in these two civilizations. When mother nature was generous, it was important to make stocks since the generosity of nature is somewhat volatile. The Romans were probably the first ones who played with the idea of baking and making a spread from quinces. Also, around the seventh century, recipes for jellies prepared with quince juice and honey began to appear in Rome.

In the 8th century the Arab expansion took sugar to the Mediterranean, Egypt, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula in larger quantities. Sugar and quinces have been around the Portuguese territory, even before there was such a thing as Portugal (the territory had frequent trade with the Greeks and was a part of the Roman Empire and later remained under the Moors rule).

During the early years of the Kingdom of Portugal (Middle Age) the process of making solid white marmelada  was already known. By the Age of Discoveries the Portuguese also discovered that those sailors who ate marmelada didn’t get scurvy. From a trade asset marmelada became a health advantage for those who would venture in ships around the world.

It seems during the medieval period Marmelada was also very popular in England. Take a look at Tudor Quince Marmalade from the YouTube channel The Anne Boleyn Files.

So what’s with all this mess around the names for very similar things? Here's the short version:

White Marmelada: a recipe of peeled quince puree (you take off everything except the pulp of the fruit) with the same weight of sugar.
Red Marmelada: a recipe of unpeeled quince puree with the same weight of sugar.
In both recipes you control the thickness of the final product with the sugar stage during the cooking process.
Marmelada de Odivelas: the term means Odivela's Marmelada, a recipe from the Odivelas Monastery that uses peeled quince puree, the double weight of sugar in soft ball (fudge) stage (85% sugar before adding the fruit puree). It results in solid marmelada usually cut in small cubes.
Marmalade: a recipe of several different kinds of unpeeled and roughly crushed fruits, usually citric ones, made into a puree with the same weight of sugar.
Jam: a recipe of several different kinds of peeled fruits made into a puree with the same weight of sugar.
Jelly: clear and should hold their shape yet be tender. Usually made by adding fruit juice to sugar or boiling fruit leftovers with the sugar.

Now that you know all this, it’s time for the recipe of White Marmelada I used in the video. I followed the recipe passed to me by my grandmother, which in turn, she learned from an aunt. This recipe is done this way in my family since at least the 1800's.

1,100 Kg Ripe quinces
1 Kg Sugar
Water
½ teaspoon of salt (optional)

1. Fill a bowl with cold water.
2. Wash the quinces.
3. Thoroughly peel them. If you want your Marmelada to be white (it’s yellowish, actually) you need to get rid of all the peel, all the seeds and respective skin. Don’t leave anything behind on the fruit.
4. Cut the quinces into quarters or even smaller and put them immediately into the bowl with cold water. This will delay the oxidation of the vitamins and help preserve the natural acidity and flavor of the quinces.
5. Put the pieces of quince into a pan and barely cover them with water. You can use part of the cold water where they were.
6. Boil until smoothly cooked. You'll notice that when the puree with sugar starts to heat the sugar will turn into liquid. The sugar crystals absorb the liquid from the puree and with heat start to melt into this liquid. That's normal and it doesn't mean your jam will be liquid in the end. With a fork check if they are tender to feel how the pulp is cooked. When cooked rinse the quinces.
7. Make the cooked quinces into a fine puree.
8. Add 1 Kg of sugar and incorporate it with the puree.
9. Boil the mix and cook for around 10mns.

Let it cool a bit and store in bowls. Note: within two days the top will start to crystallize. That's normal and it will only happen with a thin portion.