By Seren Charrington Hollins 
Nothing prepares you for the night’s drawing in and the cold chill of winter in the air quite like a pantry well stocked with home-made chutney. Whether it’s deliciously tangy green tomato or rich plum chutney the versatile art of making chutney allows you to savour the best of British produce all through winter.
With their ability to transform a hunk of bread and some cheese into a memorable meal, chutneys have come to be considered a thoroughly British treat, but chutney is a prime example of how Britain has been a culinary borrower throughout history. The original chutney of India (Hindi: chatni) was usually a highly spiced relish made from fresh fruits. During the colonial era the British took the concept of chatni home. During the long voyage home its name and ingredients changed with British cooks transforming it from a fresh relish to a sweet, sharp preserve that is heavenly with cold meats and cheeses.
Making your own chutney is right up there with home brewing and baking as a very rewarding and satisfying way of spending an autumn afternoon, but I warn you its highly addictive. Once you have started to transform windfalls and end of season produce into jars of mouth-watering chutney there will be no stopping you. There is both pride and practicality in a pantry stocked with home-made chutney and that is its draw.
Chutney is one of the easiest home preserving methods to master, unlike jam and marmalade there is no setting point to worry about and this preserve is not a case of mysterious kitchen alchemy; instead it is a simple process and once you have mastered the formula you can make up your own recipes and combinations with continued success.
The world of chutneys is full of endless possibilities with a seamlessly never ending series of combinations and recipes waiting to be tried in accordance with personal taste and the ingredients to hand. Whether sweet or sour, hot or mild; made from fruits or vegetables or a combination of the two there really is chutney to suit everyone’s pallet.
I love the fact that chutney is a preserve that is good for using up end of season produce. Those windfall apples and green tomatoes can all be converted into comforting chutney. To the chutney’s base ingredients you add various spices and other fruits like raisins, sultanas, dates and vegetables such as onion and garlic for the flavour. The vinegars, sugar and salt are there not just for the flavour but they are also the preservative and will mellow over the months to make chutney that will transform any sandwich into a memorable meal. It would be a mistake to think of chutneys as a mere condiment that can spice up cheese and crackers for a chutney can take a starring role in a dish, take plum chutney for example, added to a game casserole it can transform the dish to a whole new level, whilst adding apple chutney to a cheese and potato pie makes for a tasty supper dish that is warming and hearty. Indeed chutney is a busy cook’s best friend, for whilst the pantry remains well stocked with chutney there is never the need for a dull meal.
Autumnal Apple and Pear Chutney
This is a great recipe for using up windfall apples and you can easily adapt the spices to suit your own palate and change around the ingredients depending on what you have to hand. If using windfalls as I do, remember to discard bruised, damaged or spoiled part of the fruit as it will inhibit the taste and keeping ability of the finished product. My golden rule is always, if you don’t consider it good enough to eat raw then leave it out of the preserving pan.
Ingredients:
750g apples
500g pears
Grated zest and juice of 1 large grapefruit
Juice of 1 lemon
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Piece of fresh ginger (about 20g), peeled and grated
250g raisins
150g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
600ml cider vinegar
400g soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
Method:
- Peel, core and coarsely chop the apples and pears, and place in a large saucepan or preserving pan. Add the grapefruit zest and juice and the lemon juice and stir well (this helps to stop the fruit browning due oxidation before you begin to cook). Add the onions, garlic, ginger and raisins and stir again and set over a medium heat.
- Add the hazelnuts to the pan and stir in the vinegar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, until the fruit is soft but holding its shape. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, sterilise 5 x 500ml jars. Preheat the oven to 120°C/fan100°C/gas 1/2. Wash the jars in warm, clean soapy water, then rinse in clean water. Put upside down on a clean baking tray and dry in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tray of jars from the oven. Handle the jars with a clean tea towel.
- The chutney is ready when most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is quite thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, ground cloves and turmeric. Ladle into the sterilised jars whilst warm. Close the lids to seal. Don’t forget to label and date your chutney, as once you have a few batches in the larder it’s amazing how easy it is to get muddled and lose track of what’s in the jars.
Rhubarb Chutney
From my recent book, ‘The Pleasure of Preserving’ comes one of my favourite recipes for using up the last of the rhubarb. It’s a simple recipe that is delightful with mature cheeses and makes a fantastic finishing touch to curries.
Ingredients:
2kg rhubarb
500g onions ( peeled and diced)
500g soft brown sugar
600ml white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp medium curry powder
Method:
- Prepare and chop the rhubarb and place in a preserving pan with the onions with half of the vinegar, salt, ginger and curry powder.
- Cook gently for approximately 1 hour and then add the remaining vinegar and the sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved
- Simmer fora further 45 minutes to an hour.
- Ladle into prepared jars whilst still hot.
- Label and set aside for 3 months
Traditionally chutneys are made at the height of summer and in the early autumn, because this is when the British garden produces bumper crops of fruit and vegetables, however, there is almost always something is season that will make a good base for chutney. Once you have started making Chutney you will never have a dilemma over what to do with surplus fruit and vegetables and you will never be stuck for what to give as a thank you gift.
Tips for Chutney Success
- Cut the vegetable ingredients into equally sized chunks to allow them to cook at the same rate.
- Use only stainless-steel or enamel pans for making your chutney, as the vinegar reacts with other metals such as
copper and aluminium.
- Make sure the insides of your jar lids are plastic-coated, as bare metal might react with the vinegar and spoil the chutney.
