Curried Apple Chutney

It's canning season. Summer is ending today and fall begins tomorrow.

August 12th was Can it Forward Day. What an exciting day that was. Really...fun, informative, and inspirational. Ball had a fun filled day of live online canning seminars....FREE!! With lots of giveaway opportunities.

It was through one of those many opportunities that I won a Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit from Debby over at A Feast for the Eyes Thank you so much Debby!!!

Can I tell you how thrilled I was? That cool little basket was the biggest score for me. I don't have any special tools or anything for my canning adventures so having this basket that gets submerged into the boiling water along with the jars was a huge plus! No more dropping jars into the water cuz they slipped from the tongs that I've always used that aren't for holding jars. No more spilling near boiling water on me as I take the jars out cuz there's always just a little bit of water on the lid. And it's not like the basket is a pricey item, far from it, but I just don't shop online much. Soo...my lovely kit came with all this stuff in the picture...plus a coupon for a free case of jars! Talk about inspirational! How can you have all this cool stuff and not want to can something!

As I browsed through my newly acquired Blue Book Guide to Preserving, I spotted a lovely sounding recipe for Chutney. The ingredients were handy. I think all I had to do was buy enough apples and raisins. Everything else was already in my pantry.

I'm going to share just the recipe with you, not much of the whole canning process. If you're not experienced in preserving and canning (or you need a refresher), I highly highly insist recommend browsing through Ball's website, Fresh Preserving where you'll find instructions on how to get started, along with video tutorials, recipes, products, and an online community with discussion boards.

Canning and preserving is not difficult but there are important precautions and procedures that need to be followed.

This chutney was made using the boiling water method. Besides the jars, all you really need is a large, deep stockpot. One that's deep enough to be able to cover the jars with about 2 inches of water, once submerged. You don't need anything fancy. Of course if you have fancy, or you want fancy....then go for it. It does make things a little bit easier.

One more thing before I get started....this was suppose to yield about 10 pints. I don't know what I did...but I got a little more than 5 pints out of it. I'm thinking....maybe I cooked the chutney down too much before canning? Who knows....its fine...because 5 pints of chutney will last us quite a while. I think. hmmm...maybe not, because this stuff is so very good. It's only been a week and I've already gone through 1/2 a pint.

Curried Apple Chutney
Yields about 10 pints

2 quarts of chopped, peeled, cored apples (about a dozen large or 16 medium)
2 lbs raisins
4 cups brown sugar
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped sweet pepper
3 TB mustard seed
2 TB ginger
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
2 hot red peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups vinegar

In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Simmer until thickened, stirring frequently.

I let this simmer for a good hour. I wanted the chutney to be on the soft side, yet chunky. I didn't want a relish type consistency....ie: crunchy.

Ladle the hot chutney into hot jars (this prevents the jars from possibly cracking), leaving about 1/2" headspace (this would be the measurement from the top of the jar to the top of the food).

Using a nonmetallic spatula, run it around the inside of each jar, pressing slightly to remove air bubbles.

Using a clean cloth, wipe the edge of the rim and side of each jar. Place the two-piece lids on the jars and process in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Turn the heat off and let sit for 5 minutes before carefully removing the jars from the hot water.

Repeat as necessary until you have processed all of your jars of chutney.

Allow to sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Test the lids to make sure they have sealed (the center of the lid should be concave).

At this point you can should remove the outer band. Actually, I highly recommend it. You see, I learned something on that special Can it Forward day. Since its the flat lid that seals and keeps your newly preserved vegetables and fruit fresh, if the canning process has failed at any level, bacteria begins to grow inside the jar causing a build-up of gases. These gases will break the seal and mold will form...thus warning you that what's inside is not edible. If the bands are left on, the seals are forced to stay shut, despite the havoc inside and there will not be that easily defined visible warning.

Store for up to a year.

Need a little idea on what do use it for? Try one of my new favorite dishes:

Chutney de Poulet

Pork Tenderloin would also be wonderful. Or just spread it on a cracker with some cream cheese. Maybe a bagel? You could just lick it off the spoon...I won't tell.