Wash the wild apples, cut them into quarters and remove every black or bruised part. Do not peel or core them, this is a natural reserve of pectin.

Put the quartered apples in a large pot, squeeze a lemon over the fruit and cover the apples with water.

Cook the apples with a lid over low heat for about 2 hours, until they are soft, so that can be mashed with a wooden spoon. It might take longer, in which case add more water.

Once the apples are soft, pass them with their water with a vegetable mill and spoon the amber purée in a bowl.

Weight the apple purée: I obtained about 1 kilo of fruit purée starting with almost 2 kilos of apples.

Transfer the apple purée back into the pot, add 300 g of raw cane sugar per kilo of fruit purée and a vanilla pod, split open.

Bring again to a gentle simmering on low heat, stirring constantly. After about 10 minutes you'll have a thick golden compote, with a dreamy scent of vanilla and caramel.

Pour the apple compote into sterilized jars and close tight.