Baked Quince

Serves 8 for dessert, plain or with whipped cream or ice cream

1 cup water
Juice of ½ lemon (save the lemon half)
4 quinces
16 whole cloves
1 cup sugar
Pour the water and lemon juice into a shallow baking dish that will accommodate the quinces when cut into quarters – for instance a 9 by 12-inch Pyrex.
With a large, sharp knife – quince is hard -- cut each quince into quarters from stem end to bottom. Rub the cut sides of the quarters immediately with the juiced-out lemon half.
With a paring knife, carve out the core of each quarter, saving the seeds. With the paring knife or a vegetable peeler, peel each quarter. As you complete coring and peeling each quarter, immediately turn it in the lemon water in the baking dish, leaving it in the water.
When all four of the quinces have been cored and peeled, press a clove into the center of the rounded side of each quarter. Arrange the quince quarters, still in the lemon water, with their rounded sides up. Sprinkle them with the sugar. Scatter some of the reserved quince seeds around the quarters.
Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for about an hour, turning the quinces after 30 minutes, then turning them back, clove side up, for the last 5 to 10 minutes. The quince should be fork tender – actually soft. The water and sugar should have cooked down to a syrup. A little bit of browning and caramelizing  will happen when the syrup has reduced just right. Give them a few more minutes in the oven, if necessary.  I think I need a larger shallow pan for this as the syrup had to be run off a second time so it would reduce.
Serve with a dab of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or try to flame them with brandy. Baked quince will keep in the refrigerator, in a container where they are just covered by their syrup, for several weeks.