I love Quince!

The quince is intensely fragrant, with a perfume like a mingling of pear blossom, rose petal and narcissus, with a sort of old-world, grandmothers-kitchen, baked-apple smell. Exquisite!

A single ripe quince placed on a table will do wonders for a room.

Quinces are remarkable to look at and it's difficult to ignore the very feminine, very voluptuous shape of their dimples, bumps and curves and their beautiful perfume. These "golden apples" were given as gifts to gods, kings and queens and you will often see images of Venus with one in her hand.

Cooking a quince means work and possibly explains its loss of popularity in modern times.

Quinces involve heaps of preparation.

Their irregularity makes peeling difficult and they brown quickly unless put straight into water. You need patience. It takes even more patience to finally transform them into a deeply hued ruby red, with a soft yet firm texture that's lightly granular and richly flavoured.

Most commercial quinces are picked too green so they never develop the rich colour and delightful perfume. I wouldn't recommend buying quinces from a supermarket chain. A farmers' market is a safer bet.

Keep an eye out, you may spot a quince tree in a neighbour's yard, the fruit stays on for quite a while in autumn long after the leaves have dropped.

Remember - you cannot eat a raw quince!

When cooked, the versatile quince is delicious. Because it's full of pectin, it lends itself very well to the making of preserves, but can also be cooked with meat and fish and, of course, a quince dessert is a downright delight.

It's wonderful poached in a syrup spiced with cinnamon and clove and reveals another quality of wonder - it turns a luscious shade, anywhere from deep pink to rich red. From rosy to ruby.

If fresh quinces are handled carefully and not bruised, they should last for months. Poached in a heavy syrup, they will keep very well for a month to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.

The quince is :-
* Low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium
* High in dietary fibre, potassium and copper and an excellent source of vitamin C
* Has antioxidant properties

What you need
For cooking the quinces
2-3 medium quinces
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Cake
1 3/4 cups plain flour (not the self-raising flour)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 100g of softened, unsalted (sweet) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg yolk
3 whole large eggs
1/2 cup thick full cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the quince:
* Peel, quarter, and core quinces. Cut quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
* In a big heavy saucepan bring quince, water, sugar, honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, 2 1/2 hours (quince will be a beautiful deep pinkish colour).
* Drain and cool the quince. Chill, covered, at least 1 hour.

Prepare cake mixture
* Preheat oven to 350°F.
* Butter and flour a round cake pan.
* Sift the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Do this twice.
* In another bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until combined well. Add yolk and whole eggs, 1 at a time, to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
* Beat in half of flour mixture and all of cream until just combined.
* Add remaining flour mixture and vanilla, beating until just combined.
* Fold quince slices into batter until combined well and spread batter evenly in pan.
* Bake cake in middle of oven 1 1/4 hours, and cool for 20 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

This cake is unbelievably delicious! Sometimes I use a cake mixture when I don't have time (or can't be bothered) baking the cake from scratch. My friends can't tell the difference :)

What you need
Quinces, water, sugar, an orange and a lemon.

* 500g diced quince flesh - about 1lb
* 400g sugar - just under 1lb
* a small piece of orange zest
* a small piece of lemon zest
* water

What you do
*Place the sugar, quince dice and zest in a pot and barely cover with water.

*Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer till the mixture takes on the characteristic quince pink hue. (By this time the pieces of fruit should be soft).

Remove from heat, then immediately whisk in:

* 4 eggs
* 150g butter (cut into small pieces)

*Combine well.
*Pour into sterilised jars
*Seal when cold
*Store in the fridge.

What you need
4-5 quinces
850ml white wine vinegar
250ml water
700g sugar
12 cloves
peel of 1 orange
2 tsp peppercorns
3 tsp coriander seed
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves (fresh if possible)

What you do
*Peel and quarter the quinces, remove the cores
*Put everything in a pot
*Simmer about 2 hours until soft and red
*Cool and refrigerate.

Many references in ancient texts were mis-translated to "apple", such as the fruit in Song of Solomon.

Among the ancient Greeks, the quince was a ritual offering at weddings, for it had come from the Levant with Aphrodite and remained sacred to her. Plutarch reports that a Greek bride would nibble a quince to perfume her kiss before entering the bridal chamber, "in order that the first greeting may not be disagreeable nor unpleasant".

It was a quince that Paris awarded Aphrodite (and resulted in the Trojan War) and it was for a golden quince that Atalanta paused in her race.

Take the kernells out of eight great Quinces, and boile them in a quart of spring water, till it come to a pinte, then put into it a quarter of a pinte of Rosewater, and one pound of fine Sugar, and so let it boile till you see it come to bee of a deepe colour: then take a drop, and drop it on the bottome of a sawcer,

Then let it run through a gelly bagge into a bason, then set it in your bason upon a chafing dish of coles to keep it warm, then take a spoone, and fill your boxes as full as you please, and when they be colde cover them: and if you please to printe it in moldes, you must have moldes made to the bigness of your boxe, and wet your moldes with Rosewater, and so let it run into your mold, and when it is colde turne it off into your boxes.

If you wette your moldes with water, your gelly will fall out of them.

I can't sing the praises of the Queen of Fruit highly enough. If you've never had a quince, then believe me, you're missing a taste that has delighted us for at least 4000 years.

Even the long process of cooking a quince brings pleasure. The slow simmer, the watching of the pot, the changing of the colour, and the outcome - finally the outcome! It's Art! Then you realise how virtuous and talented you are.....

If there is a heaven, it's full of quince trees.