At the pub in Suffolk, we used to get many buckets filled with quinces as gifts from regular customers. Mr P was in charge of ripening them, a process more commonly known as ‘bletting’. For recipes such as this one, the quinces need to be bletted before use to make sure they are ripe and almost squidgy before you begin. Mr P caringly used to spread out the quinces in perforated plastic baskets and then keep them in a dark shed. Once a week he attended to them by turning them, removing the rotten ones and then selecting the quinces that were ready to use. The smell wafting from the shed was superb and fantastically fragrant.

Towards the end of the season we would then make a large batch of this delicious mildly spiced and aromatic quince chutney and jar it to be sold over the bar.

I absolutely love how the humble quince has remained such an integral and fantastic seasonal ingredient in my life, from my childhood to happy times at the pub and beyond.

It’s a good idea to make a decent amount and then you can give a jar or two to friends and family as a tasty homemade gift – tie a ribbon with a tag around the jars to finish them off. As with all our cooking and recipes, we select the best ingredients we can get, and a local organic farm supplies us with the most wonderful cauliflowers that are firm, sweet and creamy white.