Quince Paste - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 medium quinces, about 2 lbs. total
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
2 -3 cups sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 deg. and line a baking dish with foil.
Scrub fuzz off the quinces and pat dry. Place in pan, cover with foil, and roast until tender, about 2 hours Transfer pan to rack. When quices are cool enough to handle, peel, quarter and core them. (A melon baller is very useful for coring, and I find that you can scoop the flesh with a spoon).
Puree pulp in food processor with as little water as possible until smooth. Force through a large fine sieve into a liquid cup measure and measure amount of puree. Transfer to a 3-qt. heavy saucepan and add an equivalent amount of sugar.
Cook quice puree over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and begins to pull away from side of pan, about 25 minutes. Pour into a lightly oiled 1 quart terrine, smoothing top with an offset spatula, and cool. (Alternatively, pour onto a lightly oiled cookie pan and spread out to about 1/4 inches thickness and let cool).
Chill puree in terrine until set, about 4 hours. Puree in cookie pan will set without chilling. Remove from pan.
Quince paste keeps, wrapped well in wax paper and then plastic wrap and chilled, for 3 months.
Slice paste and serve with cheese and crackers.