Apple Harvest Preservation: Chutney

Cooking down the Apple Chutney
Cooking down the Apple Chutney

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.

Two Batches labeled and stored in pantry

Next post on my apple harvest preservation journey: Apple Sauce

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