Spice it up

Spicy Apple Chutney

With more of us interested in growing produce, there’s always the age old problem of what to do with gluts of fruit and vegetables. Grandma never had a problem with what to do. She often made chutneys and pickles to last through the winter as a perfect side dish with hot and cold dishes.

So, when I was given a bag of ‘fallen’ apples, I dug out Grandma’s Apple Chutney recipe. Grandma served this spicy chutney with pork pies and cold meats at Christmas.

Apple Chutney

2 lb/approx 1 kg apples

1 ½ lb/675g onions

1 lb/450g dried apricots

1 lb/450g sultanas

1 lb/450g demerera sugar

2 oz/50g garlic

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsps ground ginger

1 tsp mustard seed

1 quart/ 1150ml vinegar

Chop up the apples, onions and apricots. Add the other ingredients and mix together. Place in a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring until the ingredients are tender. Allow to cool. Spoon into clean jars and cover.

Simmer the ingredients

Grandma’s tips : Chop the fruit and onions finely or put them through a mincer so the final consistency of the chutney is thick and smooth. To test if the chutney is ready, draw a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan. If it’s ready, the chutney must not flow back into the gap left behind by the spoon. If not, then check every 5 minutes or so until the gap is clear. Chutney needs to cool slowly so the spices infuse and flavour the fruit. You can add more ginger and other spices such as mustard seed, coriander or cumin to make it even spicier.

 A gift of homemade Chutney

You could pot it up with decorative ribbon as a homemade present for friends and family!