I was going through my recipe books the other day looking for things to do with pomegranates when I fell upon  this recipe in Arabesque by Greg and Lucy Malouf.  I have a few of their books (ie, all of them).

I decided to give it a go as there is only so much jelly one can eat.  The recipe called for 4 quinces, I had 5.  At first, I increased the fluid and spices by 25% but found I needed more fluid so I ended up doubling them.  For 5 quinces, the following quantities should be perfect. 

• 5 quinces, scrubbed clean, peeled, cored and cut into wedges  (8 or 12 depending on the size of the quinces)
• 500 mls white wine vinegar
• 1 litre water
• 180 mls honey
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
•  2 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed and sieved.  I had neither seen nor heard of cardamom seeds (only cardamom pods and powdered cardamom) but  I readily found them in an Indian spice shop.  They look like mice poo.  I put them in my coffee grinder and then sifted them, as the recipe said.  I wondered why this was necessary as all the other spices were whole but I did it, anyway.
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 4 bay leaves

1. Place all the ingredients (except the quince pieces) in a large pot, stir until the honey is dissolved.
2. Add quince pieces, bring to the boil then lower heat and simmer until the fruit is soft -about 30 minutes.  Don’t let them get too soft, otherwise they will start to disintegrate.
3. Spoon quince pieces into sterilised jars and then pour liquid and spices over the fruit until completely covered.  Seal.

Greg and Lucy Malouf suggest you store for 4 weeks before using.

After I made these, I was reading Maggie Beer’s recipe.  She advises that the quince pieces get more orange with storage.  If mine do, I will take another photo to show you.  I will also let you know how they taste.