Carrie Lefaye

I’ve never worked with Quince before

I bet they wished I’d walked out the door!

They’re really hard right down to the core.

I cut my hands, my finger too

Well, there you have it - a bit of a stew.

Quince wins, I lose,

Two. Hands down for preparing the food.

It’s a rare old tree and it makes me panic

Better gather the seeds

For the good of the planet

I gathered them in, some bruised, some rotten

But you’ve no idea until you chop em

The jam went wrong

What have I done?

It’s more like a paste, what a waste!

And I’m still getting over how much

Sugar, it takes!

No slavery, please, Quince is the cheese

Spanish, Membrillo. Pectin set for a time

Are we in a “jamming rhyme”?

Such a mess, a slippery floor

A big sticky mess all the way to the door!

When you thought it was lovely and clean,

The floor has a new thin toffee-like sheen.

Boiled, juiced then dripping

Takes so long it’s a crime

I couldn’t do it that year

Will try harder next time.

The next time is now

A year on, somehow.

The boiling point is very specific

It has to be done to make jelly terrific!

The owl and the pussycat and take a backseat

With a runcible spoon to wait for the treat.

The Quince and the spoon

Jumps over the moon

And the old sticky floor

Is sticky no more.

Sugar got caned, now we dig to the beet ...

This important ingredient

Can rot your teeth!

Boil for 10 minutes - one hundred and five

No more and no less - it’s very precise.

The Jelly’s delicious!

Fit for a prince

You’ll not see nothing like the mighty quince