Tomato chutney recipies

[wine~o]

Green tomato chutney

all measurements approximate.

3lb green (or un ripe)tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 medium onions finely diced

1lb bramley apples peeled and diced.

8oz sultanas

8oz demerara sugar

3/4 pint malt vinegar

1 1/2 inch piece of root ginger peeled and finely grated *

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds *

1 tablespoon of black onion seeds * (sometimes called nigella or kalonji seeds

2 tsp salt.

* indicates optional,

Method

Throw all the ingredients into a large preserving pan, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 2 hours (stirring occasionally to prevent sticking)until all ingredients are tender and no excess liquid remains.

Spoon into 1/2lb sterilised jars and seal immediatly with vinegar proof tops.

(I buy mine from lakeland, jars are reuseable lids are not.)

Above should be enough for about 6 1/2 lb jars.

Mature for at least 3 months, store unopened in a cool place and refrigerate after opening.


Red tomato chutney

Ingredients as above except 4 tsp salt
4lb red tomatoes skinned if a thick skinned variety. sliced chunky.
1/2lb bramley apples
4 oz sultanas.
1tsp cayenne pepper *

method

chuck the tomatoes and cayenne into a large preseving pan, simmer gently for about 45 minutes breaking down the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours until no excess liquid remains, stirring as necessary.

spoon into jars as above and seal, makes between 4 and 6 jars depending on how juicy the tomatoes were (which will also affect cooking time.

EDIT seems like a palaver but the results are well worth it, these chutneys are far better than any commercially available equivalents.

[ayjay]

seems like a palaver but the results are well worth it,

Yeah, it's called cooking!

Have you ever tried leaving the sugar out?

I don't buy any commercial pickles or chutneys at all now cos they all have too much sugar in for my taste, (same as most supermarket stuff, pasta and curry sauces are the worst offenders for me).

I make my own Mustard Pickle every couple of years - if you look in the shops, they even call many of them Sweet Mustard Pickle - there's no sugar goes into my Mustard pickle at all, it still keeps perfectly well.

I don't know if it would work with tomatoes though, you do need something to counteract the acid in tomatoes, I usually add about a half teaspoon of sugar to a tomato based pasta sauce if I make one and it does improve the taste.

[wine~o]

The sugar is to counteract the acidity of the vinegar. Both the sugar and the vinegar help preserve the other ingredients. Without the sugar the chutney woyld be sour.

[ayjay]

My Mustard Pickle was originally based on a recipe (below) that included sugar, the first time I made it I cut the sugar in half and subsequently I've left it out altogether. My recipe has morphed quite a bit from the original (and was never of that quantity) but it's still better than anything you can buy, and it's not sour, it's just a proper Mustard Pickle.

http://www.make-it-do.com/cook-it-bake- ... rd-pickle/

[Chippo1]

Thanks Wino, will have a go at them later when the toms are ready.

[wine~o]

ayjay, done a bit of calculating, 8 oz of sugar is approx 225 G, 225 divided by 6 is 37.5 G of sugar per jar, normally you'd only have a maximum of 2 teaspoons of chutney on your plate and I reckon there are approx 16 teaspoons per jar...

so 37.5 divided 16 is 2.35 grammes of added sugar per teaspoon, Govt. RDA for sugar is no more than 30G per day,

Obviously there will also be naturally occuring sugars in the recipe which will add ( double?) the total amount of sugars even so unless you are drinking sweet drinks all day or eating sweeties till they come out of your ears I wouldn't worry.

[ayjay]

ayjay, done a bit of calculating, 8 oz of sugar is approx 225 G, 225 divided by 6 is 37.5 G of sugar per jar, normally you'd only have a maximum of 2 teaspoons of chutney on your plate and I reckon there are approx 16 teaspoons per jar...

so 37.5 divided 16 is 2.35 grammes of added sugar per teaspoon, Govt. RDA for sugar is no more than 30G per day,

Obviously there will also be naturally occuring sugars in the recipe which will add ( double?) the total amount of sugars even so unless you are drinking sweet drinks all day or eating sweeties till they come out of your ears I wouldn't worry.

It's not the amount of sugar I'd be eating that bothers me. I like cakes, biscuits, chocolate, all the usual things, I've probably got a bit of a sweet tooth if I cared to admit it.

I don't like sugar in savoury things that really don't need it, I just don't like the taste and I don't understand the need for it.

I can't think of anything much worse than the Yanks favourite of Bacon and Maple syrup. That's an almost criminal waste of Bacon.

I want sweet stuff to taste sweet, and savoury stuff to not taste sweet at all.

[wine~o]

I want sweet stuff to taste sweet, and savoury stuff to not taste sweet at all.

The sweet and sour in these recipes counteract each other, working well with savoury dishes.

[ayjay]

The sweet and sour in these recipes counteract each other, working well with savoury dishes.

I'm not that keen on *Sweet and Sour* stuff either.

[wine~o]

The chutney once it has matured for 3 months is neither sweet nor sour, it's just an ideal accompaniment to cold meats/some cheeses.

In the same way that Horseradish sauce works with beef, apple sauce works with Pork, Mint sauce works with Lamb... Ad infinitum.

I only posted the recipe for Chippo who has a potential tomato glut and posted in the gardening forum.

By posting the recipe in the cookery corner I thought it might help anyone "googling" tomato chutney recipe... Buuuuuttt

[ayjay]

By posting the recipe in the cookery corner I thought it might help anyone "googling" tomato chutney recipe... Buuuuuttt

Untwist your knickers wine~o, I thought we were just chewing the fat.

I don't doubt that your recipes make a perfectly acceptable chutney for most people, but I now always reduce any sugar content in any recipe by 50% the first time I make anything. If that turns out OK, as it did with the mustard pickle, I go the whole hog and cut it out altogether. I'm yet to be disappointed.

I looked out my old Mrs Beeton, she has a Red Tomato Chutney recipe very similar to yours, so that's probably at least 150 years old - it's high time some of these old ideas are challenged as I see sugar as a completely unnecessary ingredient in so many things.

[wine~o]

OK, untwisted. You can't argue with Mrs. Beeton (on account of her being gone). My recipes are my adaptation from an old (1970's ? ) good housekeeping book.

It may well work with less sugar but as I've been making it like this for at least 10 years I'm loathe to change it. Apart from anything else as it takes 3 months to mature you wouldn't know if it was OK or not until Christmas, too late to go back and make another batch.