Apple chutney recipe

The more batches of chutney we make – of all types – the more we come to appreciate that the specific ingredients you use are not entirely important. Making chutney is all about preserving what you have to hand in such great quantities that you’d never be able to eat it all before it went off. It’s also, of course, about having something good to go with your cheese over winter.

So the apple chutney recipe that follows can easily be adapted to make use of whatever you have to hand, meaning that so long as you have the basic staples – apples, onions and vinegar at the least – you can add whatever spices and fruit you have to hand. The important thing, though, is to keep your quantities roughly in line with what we’ve outlined below so that your ratio of vinegar to solid produce remains largely as we have described. If your dry products are twice what we have detailed here, then, increase your vinegar accordingly.

Ingredients
1kg apples
250g onions
150g raisins or sultanas
350g sugar
Heaped desert spoon of paprika
Heaped desert spoon of mixed spice
Quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper
Teaspoon of salt
750 ml malt vinegar

Equipment required
Knives
Large heavy pan
Jam jars with lids
Ladle
Stove or hob
Wooden spoon

Method
Core your apples and slice them into small pieces, each one no larger than a sugar cube. Don’t peel them, as the skin will add texture to the finished chutney.

Dice the onions, and put these, the apples and other ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pan. A jam-making pan is ideal here. Ensure that all of the ingredients are well mixed and that the vinegar covers the apples and onions.

Gently bring to the boil, stirring frequently to ensure that the sugar doesn’t sink to the bottom and caramelise on the base of the pan, or it will be difficult to remove once you have finished cooking. When it has reached boiling point, reduce the temperature to a simmer and allow to cook for around an hour and a half, again stirring frequently.

You should notice that the chutney mixture starts to thicken, and many recipes state that you should be able to draw your spoon across the bottom of the pan, with the mixture separating around it and then only slowly sliding back into place. However, even with four hours of cooking we have not had this happen with any chutney. Instead, then, ensure that all of the mixture is starting to get sticky and bind together, and then remove from the heat. Your total cooking time for this quantity of mixture will likely be close to two hours. It will be more if you have increased the quantities.

Carefully spoon the chutney into sterilised jars, seal them and then leave them in a dark cupboard to mature for two to three months before opening the first one.

Chutney keeps very well, and we are still eating a batch that we made 13 months ago from last year’s tomato crop. Our experience is that the longer you keep it, so long as it is airtight and doesn’t go off, the better.

Related posts:

1. Easy Green Tomato Chutney Recipe
2. Blackberry and Apple jelly recipe
3. Tomato chutney recipe
4. How to make apple jelly
5. How to make Apple Schnapps

Tagged as: apples, chutney