I made my first batch of chutney earlier, and it was seriously ho-hum, at least a few hours ago. It’s an apple-onion chutney with brown sugar and vinegar and black pepper and lots of cinnamon and clove. But very boring.
I kind of thought it might be heading that way, so I set aside half of the apples to try it again in a few days.
But maybe my mind will change after it’s set overnight.
Have you considered adding a little spicy “kick” to your chutney by adding some chilies? My mother’s home-made chutney always contained at least some chili; her high-powered chutney was spicy enough to be too hot for my childish palate at that age, but when my sister made the same recipe when we were grown-ups, the spiciness combined with the sweetness of the apples/cinnamon/clove taste was very tasty.
But, then, I tend to spice up almost anything (except apple pie!) with jalapenos!
Your adventure in chutney inspired me to dig out my mother’s copy of Helene Curtis cookbook where she had written down many of her recipes. I have not personally made this recipe, and as she wrote it down when we were still living in Mexico City, circa 1956, I’m not sure what species of apples or mangoes she used. I’ve transcribed it pretty much as she wrote it, here it is:
Apple Mango Chutney
1 cup raw Mangoes peeled and cut into chunks about 1″
1 cup cooking Apples, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
2 big cardamoms, crushed
1 cup Vinegar
1 cup Water
1-3 jalapenos, cut into rings – remove veins and seeds for less kick.
1 3/4 cups Sugar
3 teaspoons Salt
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon long ships of Ginger
4 teaspoons Raisins
8 Almonds, blanched
Preparations:
Cook mangoes and apples in water with the ginger and the garlic until they are tender, and the water is mostly absorbed. Add the vinegar, sugar, cardamom, raisins and chilies and cook until thickened. Cool, pour into jars, cover tightly.
About 250 miles, so we are not only safe but haven’t even had any rain so far. We’ve got steady breezes this morning, probably 10mph or so. Some rain predicted for later, but nothing at all to worry about.
We got soaked from Fay and will probably get another soaking when Hanna heads into Georgia.
Means I can work today without spending all my time glued to the weather reports. I’ll keep a close eye on what’s happening and send as many good thoughts NOLA-way as I can, but much less nailbiting.
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I made my first batch of chutney earlier, and it was seriously ho-hum, at least a few hours ago. It’s an apple-onion chutney with brown sugar and vinegar and black pepper and lots of cinnamon and clove. But very boring.
I kind of thought it might be heading that way, so I set aside half of the apples to try it again in a few days.
But maybe my mind will change after it’s set overnight.
Have you considered adding a little spicy “kick” to your chutney by adding some chilies? My mother’s home-made chutney always contained at least some chili; her high-powered chutney was spicy enough to be too hot for my childish palate at that age, but when my sister made the same recipe when we were grown-ups, the spiciness combined with the sweetness of the apples/cinnamon/clove taste was very tasty.
But, then, I tend to spice up almost anything (except apple pie!) with jalapenos!
Yeesh, I completely forgot. I have a mess of Hatch green chiles, and I was going to make it an apple-chile chutney.
Glad I set aside half of the apples.
As for this batch, you’re right – some heat will defnitely help.
Your adventure in chutney inspired me to dig out my mother’s copy of Helene Curtis cookbook where she had written down many of her recipes. I have not personally made this recipe, and as she wrote it down when we were still living in Mexico City, circa 1956, I’m not sure what species of apples or mangoes she used. I’ve transcribed it pretty much as she wrote it, here it is:
Apple Mango Chutney
1 cup raw Mangoes peeled and cut into chunks about 1″
1 cup cooking Apples, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
2 big cardamoms, crushed
1 cup Vinegar
1 cup Water
1-3 jalapenos, cut into rings – remove veins and seeds for less kick.
1 3/4 cups Sugar
3 teaspoons Salt
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon long ships of Ginger
4 teaspoons Raisins
8 Almonds, blanched
Preparations:
Cook mangoes and apples in water with the ginger and the garlic until they are tender, and the water is mostly absorbed. Add the vinegar, sugar, cardamom, raisins and chilies and cook until thickened. Cool, pour into jars, cover tightly.
Awesome! I think, with this recipe, I can save the bland bunch.
I already have tons of ginger in it — and I contemplated cardamon, but didn’t do it.
And I can run to the store tomorrow to get raisons, a mango and a jalapeno.
You’re a lifesaver! I was so disappointed by my first chutney experience, but I think I can turn it around now.
Then: the focus shifts to a green chile – apple chutney.
Hurricane damage in Cuba can be viewed here. Also, the BBC has this.
Crashing Vor and GF are out of NOLA and safe but exhausted. Just got a very quick email and don’t know more than that, but this is very good news.
Good. I saw a bit of the news this morning, and it looked like it’s already getting rough in New Orleans.
How far from the coast are you, Kate?
About 250 miles, so we are not only safe but haven’t even had any rain so far. We’ve got steady breezes this morning, probably 10mph or so. Some rain predicted for later, but nothing at all to worry about.
We got soaked from Fay and will probably get another soaking when Hanna heads into Georgia.
Oh, good!
Means I can work today without spending all my time glued to the weather reports. I’ll keep a close eye on what’s happening and send as many good thoughts NOLA-way as I can, but much less nailbiting.
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