Madame Benoit's Christmas Chutney

I have previously confessed my love of condiments. I particularly like chutneys.

Chutney is an Anglo-Indian word for a class of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Chutneys usually contain idiosyncratic spice and vegetable/fruit combinations that complement one another. Chutneys can have either a coarse or fine texture and refer to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with the pickled preserves often tasting both sweet and sour. My sister phoned me with a recipe she had just made for a Christmas chutney by Madame Benoit, the quintessential Canadian chef. This chutney would be wonderful on top of baked Brie or as an accompaniment to any cheese tray. It would be equally tasty with the Christmas turkey or with Tourtiere on New Year's Eve.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of fresh cranberries
- 1/2 pound of dried apricots (diced)
- 2 cups of white rum
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of pitted dates (diced)
- 1/2 cup of thinly sliced onions
- 1/2 cup of preserved ginger (diced) - this is ginger root that has been peeled , sliced and preserved in sugar and is available in most grocery stores
- 1/2 cup of cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon of mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 4 drops of Tabasco sauce
- 2 minced garlic cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and let stand for 1 hour before bringing to a full rolling boil over medium heat. (Stir while bringing to the boil so your ingredients don't burn). Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered over a low heat until thick, stirring occasionally. Pour chutney into hot sterilized jars and seal. Makes about 4 pints.

A pint of chutney, accompanied by instructions for chutney-topped baked Brie, would make a great holiday gift.

Apple Rosemary Jelly

My sister Sylvia and her family went apple picking over the Thanksgiving weekend (Canadian, obviously) and ended the holiday by making two apple crisps. Using the remaining apple peels and cores, she rose to new heights in the jelly-making stratosphere with the following recipe for Apple-Rosemary Jelly. 
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/apple-rosemary-jelly-e28093-no-pectin/

 Waste not, want not, people.

From the skins of this ruby red fruit.....

...and a somewhat suspect-looking pot of stewed compost materials....
 

....arose this gem-like jelly.

Concord Grape Jelly

I was very happy when several litres of Concord grapes arrived on my doorstep. My husband accepted them gleefully, stating his fondness for blueberry pie, thereby illustrating his ongoing issue with fruit identification. This morning while proudly handing me the Fall 2015 issue of the LCBO Food and Drink magazine, he commented on the "summer drink with lobster" on its cover, which I later identified  as a very autumnal "Johnny Apple Cocktail" garnished with, guess what, apple slices. I hope he's just trying to amuse me.

Back to the grape jelly.    

Concord Grapes...perfect little globes of purple goodness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_(grape)

Ingredients:
- 4 litres of Concord grapes
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 and 3/4 cups of granulated white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon butter (to reduce foaming)
- 1 packet of liquid pectin (like Certo)

Instructions:
Stem the fruit and place in a large and heavy pot along with 1/2 cup of water. Crush the fruit well with a potato masher. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

The simmering mash



Pour the cooked fruit through a dampened jelly bag or a cheesecloth lined sieve. Let the juice drip undisturbed for at least 2 hours or overnight (refrigerated). As per my friend's recommendation, I strained the juice a second time prior to measuring it for use in jelly-making. In a large heavy-bottomed pot add the sugar and butter to 4 cups of grape juice. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Then add 1 pouch of liquid pectin and boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly. Fill and seal sterilized canning jars (as per previous instructions on this blog... see http://princessbubba.blogspot.ca/2015/06/strawberry-jam.html )

Getting ready to strain the mash



The dusky dark purple jelly

So, You Think You Can Pickle? Beat this Bick's.

My sister Sylvia is the current champion on a new Canadian reality show called So, You Think You Can Pickle When The Temperature Is 35 Degrees Celsius? (It's on HBO) 

Green Tomato Chutney

 
My sister gave me some green tomatoes from her garden, determined to thwart the thieving deer.

In searching my files for a tried and true recipe for green tomato mincemeat, I happened upon one for green tomato chutney. This recipe card was written in the unmistakable hand of my old friend Holly, someone I haven't seen in many years but think of frequently. This chutney is dark and savoury, and may remind some of Branston Pickle.

Green tomatoes, saved from the maws of Lanark County deer.

Ingredients:
- 3 pounds green tomatoes, chopped
- 1.5 pounds onions, chopped
- 1 pound apples, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups malt vinegar
- 1.5 pounds brown sugar
- 6 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp. mustard seed
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 3/4 tsp. cayenne ( I left this out to no ill effect)
- 1/4 cup pickling salt

Instructions:

Chop the vegetables and cook in a heavy-bottomed pot for 1 hour with the vinegar. Add the remaining ingredients; cook for another 2 hours. Bottle in a sterilized jars ( as per previous instructions on this blog for strawberry and plum jam).

Winter Ketchup

This is what happens when you come from a family of condiment junkies. My sister completely reworks a recipe for a savoury sauce and it turns out great.

She wrote....."I made a batch of the Winter Ketchup from the LCBO Food and Drink magazine , with some modifications. I added a chopped peeled apple and a can of apricot halves, and cooked and canned the ketchup like I would chili sauce, (simmered for about 90 minutes). I omitted the garlic altogether, used 2 onions, doubled the red pepper flakes to ½ tsp, and cider vinegar and brown sugar to ½ cup each. I would have used a chopped red pepper if I had one."

Add a bunch of tulips and there you have it. The moral of the story is to be adventurous in the kitchen.

Branston Pickle a la SBW

Some of you may recall an earlier post relating to my love of cheese and pickle sandwiches.  http://princessbubba.blogspot.ca/2010/03/cheese-and-pickle-sandwich.html

Of course, the pickle I referred to was Branston pickle, which is more like a chutney than anything else. It tastes great with cheeses, and on meat sandwiches and sausages, and can be stirred into curries to enhance flavour.

My sister SBW says ......."Traditional Branston Pickle calls for finely diced rutabaga and carrot. I used green tomatoes instead, because I had them. It's delicious." This is her recipe for a Branston Pickle-like preserve. Brilliant.

Ingredients:

- 6 cups of finely chopped green tomatoes
- 3 cups of finely chopped cauliflower
- 2 cups of finely chopped onion
- 2 cups of finely chopped peeled apples
- 1 cup of chopped dates
- 1 cup of chopped prunes
- 2 cups of sultana raisins
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of cider vinegar
- 1 cup of malt vinegar
- 2 cups of water
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (easy for you to say)
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp mustard seed
- 2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- a little flour or cornstarch to thicken the mixture (perhaps a tablespoon)
- 1 Tbsp. caramel browning liquid
 

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cook 1 ½  – 2 hours  on the stove at a medium heat until thick. Further thicken with a little cornstarch or arrowroot flour paste as necessary. Cook 5 more minutes, then stir in 1 tablespoon of caramel browning liquid until thoroughly mixed.

Fill hot sterilized jars leaving ½ inch headspace, clean the rims, cover with sterilized lids and bands  and process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes. And voila, you have preserves.

Christmas Chutney- Looks and Tastes Good

I made some this morning (see post dated 09 Dec.'09 for the recipe) and I'm pretty pleased with it. Both sweet and savoury, it will be great with the Christmas turkey.