This is the next in a series of recipes that I have used to capitalise on the abundance that is so much part of autumn. The downside of abundance of course, is waste and it hurts me to see apples lying unused, even crab apples from urban trees. And I refuse to ditch our copious crop of green tomatoes, just because they won't ripen. When the blight comes, I act fast.
So these recipes capture the joy of celebrating harvest, and at the same time combat waste. The apples, a key ingredient, have come from different sources, but none of them, a shop or even (as if!) a supermarket. They have been apples not good enough to sell in the Church Farm veg and fruit box. They have been scrumped from ancient trees by River Stour in Dorset, (actually just by an arboretum), or a hedgerow in the National Trust property, Dyrham Hall. Or they have been come from gardens: a colleague's at work and my brother's in Wales. You can see this splendid specimen below.
Because it just uses fruit and omits onions, this particular chutney is deliciously sweet and sticky. And it is another instance of using up food waste, in this case three veg and fruit boxes which were not picked up by members of the Church Farm scheme. The pears were at the hard and crunchy stage which made them ideal, while the tomatoes were at their ripest; the apples were cookers from a colleague's garden.
The recipe below comes from 'The Preserving Book' mentioned before but I would also like to quote what Katie Stewart in her introduction. She recommends making 'the standard recipe exactly if it is a first time brew of chutney but after a little experience, vary the fruit and vegetables used or change the quantity or mixture of spices'. So, rather than going out to buy the correct sugar and spices, I actually resorted to using up store cupboard inredients. This means my version will not be the same as hers and if you try the recipe, your chutney won't be the same either. On the other hand, you now have permission to tweak.
Go on, try it out and come up with your own Autumn chutney!
Ingredients
1kg (2lbs) cooking apples
500g (1lb) pears
750g (1.5lb) red tomatoes
125g (4oz) seedless raisins
125g (4oz) sultanas
1kg (2lb)soft brown sugar
625 (1pint) vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon salt
1tablespoon salt
15g (1/2oz) salt
12 red chillies
Yield: about 2.5kg (5lbs)
Peel the apples and pears, core and cut into small pieces. Skin the tomatoes and chop them.
Put the apples, pears, tomatoes and all the remaining ingredients into a preserving pan. Stir well and simmer for 2 hours until tender, golden brown and thick. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Put into hot jars, cover and seal.
My husband knows about gardening and he says growing tomatoes outside in this country is hard, even in 'Mediterranean' London.. If you have a greenhouse, they ripen beautifully but maybe there just isn't enough sun to turn those tiny green nodules into little red bombs that explode in your mouth. I plan to follow a friend's advice and pack them in a drawer with a red tomato or a banana, to see if they turn....
But in the meantime, I love making green tomato chutney. Last year I tried Niger Slater's recipe with red and green tomatoes but in the end I preferred this one, which commits to using only the green, but adds apples. This last ingredient seems essential to create the desired gloopiness of a perfect chutney.
The recipe comes from 'The Preserving Book' published by Pan, which I found in a charity shop in Bath and which I imagine is now out of print. It was written in the seventies, when people were able to get home brew sets from Boots and 'The Good Life' was on the TV. The writers are farmer's wives and stalwarts in the WI; the only male contributor (naturally) is responsible for the chapter on wine making and beer-making.
The addition of the ginger and chillies makes the taste of this chutney initially warm and then quite fiery, but complements the green tomatoes, which can be bitter. I have to say I used birds eye chillies and had cold feet about keeping the bag in the mix for all of the cooking. Taste the chutney as it simmers and make your own decision. The recipe says, simmer for one hour but mine took longer. As in all chutney recipes, it is better to overcook than undercook.
Ingredients
2kg (4lbs) green tomatoes
500g (1lb) cooking apples
750g (1.5lb) onions, chopped
250g (8oz) seedless raisins
500g (1lb) soft brown sugar
625 (1pint) vinegar
15g (1/2oz) ginger
15g (1/2oz) salt
12 red chillies
Yield: about 3.5kg (7lbs)
Cut up the tomatoes without peeling. Peel and core the apples and chop them.
Put all the tomatoes, apples and raisins into the preserving pan. Add the sugar, vinegar and salt. Tie the chillies in piece of muslin and suspend in the pan. Bring to boil, stir well and simmer for one hour, until thick and golden brown. Remove the bag of chillies.
Put into hot jars, cover and seal.
