Serves: Makes about 800ml - Time:
It’s chutney time- when the smell of vinegar fills the house and the kitchen windows are fugged up with the condensation from a bubbling preserving pan. This month’s batch uses that wonderful autumn fruit, the quince. They are not particularly popular in the UK which is a shame as they have a unique flavour and texture. If you drop the prepared quince into the preserving pan with the vinegar they won’t discolour, but don’t worry if they do as the fruit will turn brown during cooking. My top tip of the day is never to cover chutney jars with cellophane lids as the vinegar evaporates through them- which will dry out the chutney. Leave the chutney a month for the flavours to mature and eat it with a really tangy cheddar or strong blue-veined cheese such as Per Las.
Ingredients
- 500ml white wine vinegar
- 500g demerara sugar
- 4 ripe quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 5mm cubes
- 3 Bramley cooking apples, about 580g, peeled and grated
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 40g root ginger, peeled and grated
- Scant teaspoon Maldon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 star anise
Method
- Put all the ingredients in a preserving pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil then turn the heat to very low and leave the contents to simmer for about one hour or until the quinces are soft.
- Take off the heat and liquidize about half the chutney. Spoon into sterilised jars with lids (see intro) and leave for about one month before eating.