I took a break from canning for a couple of hours during the middle of Saturday. My leftover unused jars, though, accused me from the counter top and cried ‘fill me, fill me!’ I didn’t want to do another batch of apple butter yet, so I began searching for other canning recipes that used apples as the primary ingredient. I found a couple of chutney recipes (What is apple chutney and how would you use it?) that looked interesting. The first one came from a canning web site called SimplyCanning.com and provided instructions not only for making the chutney, but how to preserve it as well. The second recipe I found on the FoodNetwork.com web site and wasn’t designed for a large batch intended to be canned.
I reviewed both recipes and made a grocery and supplies list. I left the house and dashed to the grocery store to grab the items I didn’t have on hand in my pantry. I picked up dozen pint-sized jars just in case.
Once back home, I started chopping up the ingredients I wanted to include in my mashed up merging of the two chutney recipes (see below). I dumped everything in my large stockpot and got it boiling to begin cooking it down. I turned the heat down a bit too much, and ended up simmering the ingredients slower than I could have. After a couple of hours, I turned the heat up a bit and finally got the chutney reduced down and thickened. Then, all I had to do was keep the chutney warm so I could fill up the sanitized half-pint jars and place them in the water bath canner for sealing.
Apple Chutney Recipe
- 2-3 dozen apples (peeled, cored, chopped)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lb. golden raisins
- 4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup sweet red peppers, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (fine ground)
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup fresh squeeze orange juice (2 oranges)
I cooled the jars on the rack overnight, then label and stored them in my pantry Sunday morning.
Next post on my apple harvest preservation journey: Apple Sauce
