Apple Chutney Recipe
‘You should make and sell this chutney’, is the comment I got when I shared this chutney with my cousin and friends. ‘It is so good, I am eating it out of the jar with a spoon’! was another.
Chutney-making is so easy. It is a case of chopping all your ingredients into a large heavy-based pot or preserving pan, and as you are going to stick blend it, it can be roughly chopped. Stirring the ingredients together over one and a half hours will transform the ingredients into a homemade deliciousness that people will be praising you for. You do have to stir the pot at intervals, and that is as time-consuming as it is.
It is a fantastic way to use a glut of allotments, seasonal fruit, and vegetables. A little goes a long way. With 1kg of fruit or vegetables, you can make +/- 4 jars of 250g, and it is cost-effective. Made now, this makes a wonderful edible gift ready for the festive season.
I have enjoyed making this recipe with apples, pears, and marrows, or a combination of them all, and some years with shop-bought fruit.
You do have to think ahead, as the chutney has to sit in a dark cupboard, mellowing and the flavours mingling, to yield a wonderful chutney in 2-3 months’ time.
Having one recipe that you can add different fruits and vegetables to is really handy, and I hope this becomes your go-to chutney recipe.
The chutney is flavoured with the zinginess of the vinegar, and over the years I have used white, malt, and apple vinegar. I am all for using what I have indoors, and that is why I have said dates, raisins, or sultanas. Use what you have or a combination to make up the grams you need, and it is a great way to clear out your cupboards. There is a warmth from the mixed spice, paprika, and coriander that makes this chutney delicious to eat with popadoms, curry, a cheeseboard, part of a festive table, and in a sandwich.
When you taste it after it has just been made, it is very sharp, and you may be disheartened, but don’t be. As the months progress, the chutney mellows and the flavours marry beautifully together.
Thinking ahead, why not double the recipe and make a few jars as edible gifts? With a bottle of wine, your favourite cheese, and crackers, this makes a delicious ‘thank you gift’ hosting gift or present for the foodie in your life.
Let’s talk bottles:
I was caught off guard and needed jars as my friends and neighbours had given me apples and marrows. I looked online and in the supermarkets, and the bespoke preserving jars were all too big. If this is a planned cooking session, you can save your pasta sauce jars and jam and honey jars or ask friends and family to divert their glass recycling to you. As this was unexpected kindness, I went to the supermarket’s jam aisle, bent down, and found the cheapest jam on the shelf. It was ASDA’s Strawberry Jam, which was 28p, the next year it was 34p and now it is 89p, that is inflation! This can be a cost-effective way to bottle and gift your chutney. The jam from the jar can be used in tartlets or to seal dessert cases to prevent the bake from getting soggy, or it can be enjoyed mixed with milk and ice cream in a milk shake.
A note about the preserving pan shown:
A preserving pan is so lovely to use; you can lift, boil, and pour from the pan, and it cooks the jams or chutneys beautifully without catching in corners like my usual pots.
I am not a prolific jam or chutney maker, but once a year I like to honor Gloria, whose daughters gifted me her preserving pot.
Here is the story behind the pot:
My wonderful friend Mary’s mum, Gloria, needed to move into care because her dementia was gripping her life. Between the families, they divided, gave, and donated away a lifetime of belongings. Gloria always had something cooking or baked goods for her friends and family to enjoy. Her love language in her pre-dementia life was giving. She would cater effortlessly for huge church gatherings and make and preserve produce from her garden. And oh my goodness, her coconut ice and fudge were legendary. Gloria would make coconut ice and top that with fudge; in one mouthful, it was heavenly and unique. I digress. Between the sisters, they chose to gift me one of the two preserving pans Gloria used. I was touched, and every time I use it, I feel very honored. I love how kind gestures can connect us to the person that we know and love. They may be slipping away, but they are slipping away. Mary and Jennifer’s kindness and passions imprint us and help us to keep the person they were in our minds.
Below is a versatile and easy-to-make chutney. Chop, stir, and bubble your way to a lovely chutney. Keep the jars for two months before enjoying which allows the ingredients to mingle and mellow.
Apple Chutney Recipe
Preparation time
Cooking time
Total time
This is my go-to chutney recipe. You can add apples, pears marrows or a combination of them all. This is a make-ahead recipe as the chutney needs to mellow for a minimum of 2-3 months before you can enjoy it.
Marissa: www.marissa.co
Recipe type: Chutney
Cuisine: British
Servings: 4 250 ml jars
Ingredients
- 225g onions, chopped (about 3 medium onions)
- 900g cored and chopped apples, pears, or *marrow *See note
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 110g sultanas, raisins, or chopped dates
- 15g ground coriander
- 15g paprika
- 15g mixed spice
- 15g salt
- 340g granulated sugar
- 425ml malt vinegar
Method
- Add all the ingredients to your pot and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up a little and allow the chutney to gently simmer.
- Stir often to ensure the chutney does not stick, always stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Allow the chutney to simmer for about 1½–2 hours, depending on the size of the marrows, apples or pears.
- The consistency that you are looking for is one when you run a wooden spoon into the centre of the pot, the mixture can stay on either side and then slowly fill.
- When the chutney is ready, sterilise a spoon by leaving it in boiling water for a few minutes, fill the sterilised jars you have chosen, seal with a piece of wax or greaseproof paper, and once cooled, store in a cool dark cupboard or room for at leas 2–3 months, before serving.
Tips
*Marrow Preparation Method:
The night before cube the marrow, skin on but trimmed of any impurities and place it into a glass bowl.
Sprinkle the salt over the marrow and stir through.
Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
The next day rinse the marrow and add it to a heavy-based pot.
Discard the marrow juice.
By doing this you will draw out the excess water and have a thicker chutney.
Sterilising jars:
My preferred method of sterilising cleaned jars is to heat them in a 100 degree Celsius oven for 10 minutes. The chutney can then be added to the jar straight from the oven and sealed.
The night before cube the marrow, skin on but trimmed of any impurities and place it into a glass bowl.
Sprinkle the salt over the marrow and stir through.
Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
The next day rinse the marrow and add it to a heavy-based pot.
Discard the marrow juice.
By doing this you will draw out the excess water and have a thicker chutney.
Sterilising jars:
My preferred method of sterilising cleaned jars is to heat them in a 100 degree Celsius oven for 10 minutes. The chutney can then be added to the jar straight from the oven and sealed.
Enjoy making this versatile and delious recipe and I hope this becomes your go-to chutney recipe.
