Quince can be a fiddle to use but the flavour they pack is amazing.  Here are some suggestions for using them.

My Gran’s Quince Chutney

1.8kg quinces
2 large onions
10 cloves garlic
700 gm demerara sugar
900 gm seeded raisins
2 tspns salt
10gm piece of whole ginger (bruised)
1 tspn each cloves, allspice, pepper, cayenne pepper, mixed spice
1/2 tspn mace
Malt vinegar to cover

Put ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper and mace in a muslin bag. Peel, core and slice quinces. Chop onions and garlic (finely) and place in pan with sugar, raisins, salt, cayenne and mixed spice. Add muslin bag and quinces and barely cover with vinegar. Bring to the boil, then simmer slowly for four hours. Remove bag and bottle the chutney in sparkling dishwasher-clean jars.

BBC Good Food recipe for Quince Jelly

1 lemon, juiced
2/3 lemon scented geranium leaves
500g of white sugar for each 600ml of juice
chopped quinces, enough to fill a large saucepan

If you would like to read the full recipe please visit http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10762/quince-jelly

Vin de Coing

A recipe from Dany Bosek in Ligueil (twin town of Hungerford)

Wash two quinces and grate them. Add a vanilla stick and some dried orange peel (optional). Pour two bottles of white wine and one glass of vodka style spirit. Finally add about 250 grammes of sugar.

Leave it to marinate for at least two weeks and then filter it into a bottle.

(The batch in the photo has been marinating for a week so far)