Apple Chutney

Whilst out shopping last week we came across an apple tree growing in a supermarket car park.  Never liking wasted food we set about picking the fruit.  They look and smell like a Cox and Dave, my husband, says they are crisp and tasty. I can't eat raw fruit without swelling up so I will take his word for it.

As I can only eat cooked fruit I chopped up loads of them and put them into the slow cooker for a few hours and then froze lots of small pots ready for my lunch box.

I then used a batch of them to make apple chutney.  My friend is a novice preserver so I thought I'd put up some pictures of the process to help her along. The recipe I used comes from my 'Go To' book, 'Easy Jams,Chutneys and Preserves' by Val and John Harrison, my bible.This is their website

I chopped up the apples and onions into pieces the size that I wanted in my finished chutney.

The apples and onions were put into the pan with sultanas, salt and white vinegar.

Pickling spice was put into a spice ball for the flavours to infuse with the mixture. The heat was turned up to bring to the boil then it was turned down to simmer.

When the onions and apples were soft I removed the spice ball, added ground ginger and soft brown sugar to the pan. The sugar was stirred in and heated gently to dissolve it.

The chutney was simmered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture was thickened and you could draw the spoon across the base of the pan to see the bottom for a moment.

(It's difficult to take a photo of a hot steamy pan.)

Clean jars were filled with the chutney and topped with a waxed circle.  I used cellophane covers and then topped with the metal lid to match the jar.

Make sure you wipe the outside of the jar whilst it is still hot and the chutney hasn't dried and gone sticky.

Now the problem is waiting 3 months for the fruits of my labour to mature before I eat it.