Quince Paste (Vegan)

A little about me, I am of Chilean background and when I was little I remember that I would have quince paste on my sandwiches at school. The kids in my class would ask me what it was and I had no clue as to what it was called in English-or even if there was an English name for it. I just knew it was 'Dulce de Membrillo'. These days you can get the stuff any where, but at an incredibly hefty price. So why not make just your own?


Ingredients

2 kg quinces
2 litres of water
1.5 kg of sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pot with the lemon juice.
2. Wash, peel and core quinces.
3. Chop quince flesh coarsely and add to boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender.   
4. Drain and pop into a food processor. Give it a quick blitz as you still want a bit of texture.

5. Put everything back in the pan with the sugar, I use raw sugar because I prefer the taste but you could use any type. 6. Cook, stirring over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. 7. Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the quince paste is very thick. By this stage the paste will have developed a beautiful rich ruby colour.  This could take up to about 3 hours, but it is definitely worth it. 8. Pour the mixture out onto a baking tray or individual moulds and leave to dry for a few days. 9. When dry, cut as needed. The paste will keep several months.