I love a bit of experimenting -food & drink wise, having previously tried  making wine from my Gamay grape vine, the variety used in Beaujolais red, that grows at the end of my garden. Not quite enough grapes, especially as they are the size of blueberries & a small vine in London! This year’s crop ripened from the Summer  sun – slightly sweet yet still tart in flavour, being a wine making variety. Along with home grown apples &  pears I decided to  make chutney with a few spices thrown in as a tasty relish to keep & eat  for Christmas & throughout Winter. Chutney preserved this way will keep for a year if stored in a cool dark cupboard. I am sharing my recipe after posting a few pictures on Instagram and receiving some great comments. This recipe is very adaptable and you can just make with apples or  pears only, an apple/pear combo or without the grapes. I love the purple colour and  tanginess the grapes bring along with the flavours and textures with all three.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds
• 1 red & 1 green mild/medium chilli de-seeded and finely chopped
• 525g /1.2 lb apples washed,  peeled, cored & diced (approx. 1.2cm or 1/2 inch dice); I used Golden Delicious variety
• 765g /1.7 lb pears washed, peeled, cored & diced (approx. 1.2cm or 1/2 inch dice); I used Conference variety
• 400g /0.9 lb, grapes, washed & stalks removed;  I used Gamay variety with seeds, but any dark purple variety will work (Concord, Black Beauty, Emperor in the US or Black Italia or  Ribier in UK)
• 2 red & 1 white onion, peeled and  chopped (approx. 1 cm or  3/8 inch)
• 3.5 cm/1 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 400ml/  13.5 fl oz cider vinegar
• 450g/ 1 lb granulated sugar ( I used golden as I like the slightly caramelised flavour)
• 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  

  toasting the spices

Method

• Heat a dry frying pan for a few minutes to medium/hot
• Add the cumin & coriander seeds and toast for a minute until they pop ( keep shaking the pan so they toast evenly & don’t burn)
• Put seeds into a mortar & pestle ( or electric spice grinder)
  

  Spices – freshly ground

• Repeat with the mustard seeds
• Grind the spices to a fine powder
• Take a large, heavy based saucepan or jam pan and heat on medium
• Add the onion, ginger, cider vinegar, chillis & toasted spices

Chopped & added – let’s make chutney!

• Bring to the boil and simmer on a low/medium heat for 10 minutes until the onion are slightly softened
• Add the chopped apples, pears, grapes, sugar, sea salt & cinnamon
  

  Simmer slowly

• Bring to the boil and then simmer on a low heat for about 1.5- 2  hours until the mixture is thick & pulpy
• Keep an eye on the chutney with a little stir every 30 minutes to ensure it is not burning on the bottom of the pan

Chutney ready to jar

• To check it’s ready the  use the back of a spoon to scrape along the bottom and if the channel does not fill quickly with liquid the chutney is ready to jar

To sterilise the jars & lids:

Jars washed & dried -ready to sterilise

• Heat the oven to 160C fan, 320F
• Wash and dry the jars & lids with warm, soapy water
• Put the jars upright on a metal baking tray and heat for 10 minutes
• For metal lids, cover with freshly boiled water and then dry with  paper towel
• If using Kilner jars with 2 part lids or rubber seals, please follow the instructions as the rubber element cannot withstand temperatures of 100C/212 F
• Sterilise a metal funnel and spoon with freshly boiled water & dry with paper towel

Filling the jars:

• Remove  the jars from the oven carefully using protective gloves or jam tongs and fill with the warm chutney using the metal funnel and spoon leaving a 1 cm/0.4 inch gap from the top of the jar
• Wearing protective gloves screw on the lids to a fairly tight seal
• Stand the jars upright on the metal tray until cool
• I have seen pictures of people turning their jars upside down but this is not necessary, and I do not recommend
• Label and store in a dark cupboard, allowing to mature for at least 4 weeks, ideally longer
• Once opened store in the fridge

This chutney is very versatile going well with a variety of cheeses, charcuterie & cold meats. My favourite is with a strong Cheddar, creamy goat’s cheese, turkey or ham at Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner or for a  Ploughman’s lunch (see archives). It’s a great way to use the fruit from your garden, even the little, misshapen ones which will still taste delicious!

My apple, pear, and grape chutney – a tasty way to add a tang to your food and tastebuds.