Thursday, July 12, 2018

Cherry Chutney Time-Recipe


I didn't want to let cherry season (in the Northern hemisphere anyway) go by without posting this recipe. You need to plan ahead if drying your own cherries.

1 1/2 quarts fresh Bing (or other sweet) cherries, pitted and chopped
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups dried cherries
1 large red onion, chopped
2 tablrespoons mustard seed (I used a mixture of brown and yellow)
2 teaspoons ground dried ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar (use malt vinegar if cider isn't available)
Rosemary and thyme to taste

Bring everything to a boil over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer until thick and mounds easily on a spoon. As it cooks down, watch to make certain it doesn't scorch. Pour hot chutney into sterilised jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner adding 1 minute for each 1000 feet above sea level at your location. Let cool down 5 minutes in canner after processing before removing to a heat-proof surface to cool for 12 hours. Makes about 4 pints.

7 comments:

bahnwärterin said...

sweet cherries are over since a week at the farms around.... but your recipe sounds very tasty - will save it for next cherrie seasons.....
thank you! xxxxx

ThriftyParka said...

Yum! Thanks for posting your chutney recipient....sounds amazeballs!! Sadly I won't have time to can this year, as I'm ankledeep in the LAST few renos and such. But I shall continue to diligently read your posts as I anticipate many delicious, homemade goodies will be forthcoming from the ETB kitchen.

Happy thrifting ;)

Beth Waltz said...

Ptooie! I've been eating fresh cherries by the bag -- and saving the pits for a special "hot bag". My grannie used pits to create "comforts" for arthritic joints. She heated these pit-filled, feed-bag fabric bags in the warming section of a wood stove. Moi, I'm hoping the microwave will do the trick!

Polyester Princess said...

Sound delicious but being forever strapped for time, it won't happen here. Have been eating quite a lot of cherries lately, as I love them. I love anything with cherries, really! xxx

Miss Magpie said...

We have a little cherry tree in the garden and the birds had scoffed the lot before I even realised they were ripe!!

Goody said...

@Beate
Ah well, maybe next year.

@Thrifty Parka
I am dying to see the remodel. I hope you will show us when it is all over.

@Beth
You're probably doing an older version of those nutshell filled pillows they sell as "green" plus you get the bonus of eating the cherries.

@Ann
Chutney is a very slow thing to cook-almost as bad as fruit butters. I've often wondered if you coulkd just do it in a slow oven or crock pot to avoid all the standing and stirring.

@Miss Magpie
Yep-birds know trhe fruit is ripe well before we do! You can net the tree, but then you have a full time job freeing dumb birds from the nets.

Mim said...

I think cherries are much more common in the US. I love them, but oh they are pricy. (Though given the time of year, maybe I should see if the cheap fruit stall has any for sale...) I bet that chutney is really delicious.