Basic chutney recipe

I scoured cookbooks and websites to find a basic one-size-fits-all chutney recipe which can be tweaked to suit most gluts.  I honed them all into one and gave it a whirl this week.  Early tasting seems promising, but I won’t be sure how successful it is for a while, since chutney must be kept for about 2 months before eating.  The good thing is, it’s really straightforward with lots of the recipes stressing how hard it is to mess up a chutney-making session, so just have a go like I did. 

 

Basic Chutney Recipe

3 parts fruit and/or vegetables (eg, 100g apple, 100g onion, 100g pumpkin)

1 part sugar (eg, 100g Demerara)

1 part vinegar (eg, 100ml cider vinegar)

Optional: dried fruit, nuts, garlic, salt, spice

 

Method

1.        Prepare your fruit and vegetables well – removing bruised bits. 

2.       Place all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pan and simmer gently for at least an hour with no lid, stirring occasionally.  Check seasoning after ½ hour.  You know it is cooked when it looks like a glossy pulp, and when dragging a spoon through it – the space isn’t immediately filled with liquid. 

3.       While it is cooking prepare the jars: clean them in hot, soapy water, sterilise (along with the spoon and funnel you will use to fill them) and place in a moderate oven to dry.  Don’t use metal lids, as they react with the vinegar. 

4.       Allow the chutney to partially cool, spoon into the jars, close tightly and keep for at least 2 months before eating. 

 

I made a spicy, quite sloppy version using garlic and spices to eat with poppadoms.  I quite like lumpier chutneys with a ploughmans, so I’ll probably do a version with whole shallots and apple next. 

Lisa Reid