Almost-Candied-Quince and Apple Pie

I've never cooked with quince, but a recent L.A. Times article by Russ Parsons, and a fall-food challenge in my ladies-who-cook group changed that.

Quinces look like blocky, green pears. They are easy to peel:

They look like a pear inside, too. But they feel like an apple that's gone all woody and punk-y. I nibbled a raw piece; they taste like wood, too.

But I trusted Parsons: cooking simply transforms this fruit. Slice up the quince:

Pour over the slices a sugar-water (or sugar-water-wine) syrup infused with cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, and orange zest:

Bake the slices in the heavenly, spicy syrup until they turn rosy pink and almost translucent:

Ohhh, delicious!

Parsons suggests different ways to use the almost-candied quince, including serving it with cheese, or folding into a clafoutis, or stirring into Greek yogurt. I decided to create an apple-quince-cranberry pie:

YUM! The pale slices of apple commingle with the pink slices of quince, studded with the ruby cranberries here and there:

 The ladies and I ate it all up.