Sunday 7 October 2018

A Cold One

The early hours of Sunday morning turned out to be a cold one with the temperature falling to 0.7°C or 33.3°F.
Temperature Records 07 October 2018
That makes it the coldest October night I've recorded since 25 October 2010 when the temperature fell to 0.2°C (32.4°F). Of course that means it's the coldest October night I've recorded this early into autumn. The average temperature for Saturday was only 7.4°C (45.3°F) also making it the coldest day I've recorded this early in autumn.

It's not forecast to warm up much today so I might peel, chop, cook and freeze some of the quinces that we picked on Friday. As I've passed our quince tree on the allotment it didn't give me the impression that it was that heavily ladened with fruit this year. However, that impression turned out to be wrong as our Meeches Prolific produced its heaviest ever crop to date of 33kg or 73 lbs.
Preparing quinces is a bit of a challenge. They might look a bit like pears but unlike pears they have a very hard core so they can't be cored easily. The best way I found of preparing them is to peel the fruit and then carve as much flesh as possible from the quince avoiding the hard central core. Once prepared the flesh will be cooked until it softens and then frozen in crumbles or as a compote for use over winter.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, you were 5 degrees cooler than us last night! The long term prediction is to warm up for a spell. When the next cold spell arrives it will be out with the fleece for the outdoor salads in the school garden. Have you considered "Membrillo" as a way of preserving the quince?

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    Replies
    1. One forecast showing 24°C for us next Saturday. Battle between high pressure and low pressure next week depends which one wins. I hadn't considered "Membrillo" because until you posted I hadn't heard of it. Having looked it up it looks a possibility although we enjoy quince crumbles and conserve but we are just about out of freezer space. Watch this space!

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