Quinces in the oven

Because of their long cooking time(2.5 hours perhaps) the best option is to bake them. A heavy dish with it’s own lid reduces the amount of liquid that will evaporate. This helps the quinces cook evenly and prevents an overly sweet end result. It’s a good idea to put the quince slices into a bowl of water with a bit of lemon to reduce the oxidation, or browning, of the cut slices. Having said that, I have found any mild oxidation seems to disappear as the quinces cook.
Preheat oven to 180C
Wash 6 large quinces. Peel, and using a sharp knife, halve and quarter them.
Cut out the cores with a small knife, being sure to remove all the white inner lining.
Put in your oven dish, 5 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 c sugar and pour 500 ml water over the top. You can add a vanilla bean, halved lengthwise.
After 1/2 hour turn the oven down to 150C and cook gently for another 2 hours,removing the lid for the last half hour. The quinces should turn a shade somewhere between orange and pink. Taste the syrup for sweetness - to achieve more intensity of flavour remove the quinces from the dish and boil the syrup for a few minutes. We use quinces cooked this way on danishes and tarts, and as a component on dessert plates. Pannacotta and honey roasted quinces anyone?