Jane had promised to share in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen some chutney recipes.  She brought some homemade chutneys to share with everyone some time ago and we are eager to learn how to make it.

Jane made two types of chutneys.  The first chutney is Apple Chutney.  According to Jane, chutney originated from India.  It’s considered poor people’s food.  Chutney is also a diet food as people who try to reduce fat intake can have toast with chutney instead of butter.  Chutney can be eaten with anything from chicken, pork, etc.

In North America, people usually make chutney in summer and fall when fruits are in abundance.  This way, North Americans can still enjoy the taste of summer in the cold winter when fruit is not available.

Sugar and vinegar is the primary preservatives in making chutney.  Spices are added according to your own preferences.  Here are some of the pointers shared by Jane regarding vinegar:

• Hard cider has very strong alcohol
• Apple cider vinegar is good for arthritis
• White wine vinegar is made from green grapes
• White vinegar is made from chemical, not advised to use in cooking but good for cleaning

Ingredients

• 3 jars 790ml (28 fl oz) apple sauce
• 1/2 to 3/4 litre apple cider vinegar
• 3 cups golden raisins
• 796ml onion puree from 2 lbs onion (boiled and puree)
• 2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 cups finely chopped red and green peppers
• 2 tablespoon grated ginger (amount up to your preference)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon ground all spice

I was not able to organize the ingredients for a photo shoot as the kitchen is quite havoc with things already started before I arrived.  Jane had started off with the cooking of the apple sauce as making chutney needs at least 2 hours to finish cooking.

Instructions

Jane took a short cut by using store bought apple sauce.  By right, we should start from making the apple sauce from the apple itself. Place the apple sauce in a large heavy based pan, not aluminium pan. Heat the apple sauce on medium heat.

Add the vinegar.

Stir in raisins.

Add brown sugar.

Add chopped peppers to the mixture.

Add desired amount of grated ginger.

Add your preferred spices.

Mix well all the ingredients and let simmer for at least 2 hours or until the right consistency.  Cover with a splatter screen to prevent splattering.  Stir from time to time to prevent sticking to the pot.  This is a time consuming and laborious job but the chutney will be your enjoyment for a long time.   Chutney is so intense in flavour that a little goes a long way.