Place the quince, sugar, spices and vanilla in the jar and top up with gin, up to one inch from the top, making sure all the ingredients are covered. Shake regularly for the first couple of days to make sure the sugar dissolves. Leave in a cool dark place for at least three months or no longer than one year. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and bottle. Once it has been baked or poached, the flesh becomes soft and almost Turkish delight-like. A quince in this state will benefit from a crisp crust. Best so far has been a crumble, rough as pebbledash, where I tossed together flour, butter, almonds and breadcrumbs and sweetened it with light, butterscotch-scented muscovado. There is a temptation to leave them in a bowl on the kitchen table, their soft roses ’n’ honey scent getting more pronounced as the room warms. But no – every quince needs cooking, where its impenetrable flesh will soften almost to jelly and turn the colour of a winter sunset. This is, after all, probably one of the few fruits you truly cannot eat raw. When the time is up, take your sterilised bottle and using a funnel with some muslin or a coffee filter in it; strain the gin into the bottle. I found that it was best if I strained it twice. Just make sure you replacing the muslin with a new piece after the first straining.

Put the jar to one side, making sure you shake the jar every few days. Leave the quince to sit in the gin for 3-6 weeks. Layer up quince laced with madeira wine and creamy Greek yogurt for a great autumnal dessert. Top the fool with toasted hazelnuts for added crunch A fruity gin that combines the quinces natural balance of tart and sweet flavouring, reminiscent of pear & sour apple, with the smooth traditional base of our London Dry Gin. The overall effect is a bright and zesty gin with hints of juniper, coriander and aromatic floral notes. The quinces must be thoroughly tender before being removed from the syrup. Remove the quince halves with a draining spoon, reserving a little of the syrup for moistening the fruit as you serve it. Keep the rest, refrigerated, for poaching other fruits. (Lightly perfumed, it will work for both apples and pears.) Set the quinces aside to cool. This seasonal membrillo recipe makes two clever treats in one. You'll have quince paste and a delicate quince jelly to preserve the flavours of the season

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Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. We have a quince tree in our garden, so most autumns we are blessed with a fairly decent crop of fruit. Most of this goes towards making quince jelly, which is excellent with cheese, but this year I put aside two nice big quinces for ginning with. It’s simple to do, you just need patience. How to make your own Quince Gin You will need:The quince hails from modern day Iran/Turkey and is said to have a flavor that contains notes of lemon, jasmine flowers, orange blossoms, pineapples, D’anjou pears and even apple (depending on who you ask). In other words, the fact that the fruits flavor defies simple description explains it best— quince is really its own thing. If you’ve had it, you know it. If you haven’t, it’s tough to make a point of reference.