Mervyn's Apple Chutney

Ingredients and equipment

1 lemon, seeded and chopped into pieces of about 1/4 inch

5 cups of peeled, hand-chopped apples (chop into pieces of 1/2 inch or so)

2.5 cups brown sugar

0.5 lb raisins

3 oz crystalized ginger, chopped into pieces of about 1/4 inch

1.5 tsp salt

1/4 t. cayenne powder

2 c. cider vinegar

About 5 half-pint jam jars and lids

Instructions

Sterilize the jam jars and lids, plus equipment you will use to fill them, carefully following the instructions from a book on canning or making jam. It is extremely important to make sure the jars and equipment you will use to fill them are properly sterilized.

Put a small glass plate or bowl in the freezer.

Put all the ingredients into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot. Simmer about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens. To test whether the chutney has gelled, put a few drops of the liquid on the frozen plate, return to the freezer briefly to cool the mixture, and then test to see if the consistency is right. You want the chutney to still run a little when you tilt the plate, but not to be watery. If the chutney seems too thin, cook another 5 minutes and test again. Continue cooking until the chutney is done. Remove from heat, pour into the sterilized jars, and seal.

Notes

• • This recipe was passed on to us in the 1980s by Mervyn Bruck, Asha's aunt Carolyn's father-in-law. We think he may have gotten the recipe from Gourmet Magazine, but aren't sure.

  • Although you can eat the chutney immediately, it will taste best if first aged for 3 months.

  • As noted above, be extremely careful to properly sterilize the jars and equipment you use to fill them.

Page last updated: 10/10/10