Rub the fuzz off the quinces and wash them thoroughly.

Put some water into a bowl and add the lemon juice or apple vinegar

Quarter the quinces, peel them and remove the cores and any hard or “grainy” parts. Either leave the quince quarters or chop them into cubes of about 2 – 4 cm (1 inch). Put the quinces into the acidified water so that they won’t turn brown.

When all the quinces are done, prepare the syrup:

Put the water and sugar into a pot and stir until the sugar has partly dissolved. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the vanilla out with a knife. Add the vanilla seeds, the sliced pod and the cinnamon stick to the sugar water.

Bring all to a boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. Let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes.

Now drain the quince (cubes) and add them to the simmering syrup. Bring it to a boil once again and let it simmer until the quinces are tender (about 45 – 60 minutes). They should have turned a beautiful rose-pink colour by now.

Pack the quinces into the sterilised jars.

Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from the syrup and carefully fill the jars up with syrup, leaving 1 cm (½ inch) of headspace. Immediately seal the jars tightly with the lids.

Let the jars cool down completely and check the lids for tightness.

Quinces in syrup can be stored up to one year in a cool and dark place. Once opened, put the jar in the fridge where it may last up to 1 month.