Having never really met a chutney that we didn’t like, seeing the loads of fresh peaches and nectarines flooding the markets of late sent me digging through the files for this End of Summer Stone Fruit Chutney.
The culinary wizards who argue that on the whole, Americans don’t appreciate good chutneys like we should, are right on the mark in our book. A great chutney can turn a good but routine grilled chicken or pork tenderloin into something great (and we all should be making grilled food great again, right?).
You should have no trouble finding superb peaches and nectarines right now, pears and top of the season sweet onions too, though we found ourselves having to dig a bit to find some nifty looking apricots (given they’re an early summer crop for most of us).
This recipe is otherwise pretty damned easy; you just need to round up the list and stir; don’t walk off and leave it simmering for too long – as it reduces and the sugars begin to caramelize you could burn it in the last 5-10 minutes.
You can certainly can (hot water process) this for long term storage (or freeze it); ours usually gets thrown in the fridge and eaten in under a month anyway.
1 pound fresh peaches
1 pound fresh nectarines
1 pound fresh apricots
1 pound fresh pears
2 small seedless oranges
20 cloves fresh garlic, peeled, minced
3 cups sweet onions, trimmed, fine dice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried (unsweetened) cranberries
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp pickling salt
1/2 tsp good ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly ground allspice
Optional: 2-4 tbsp red pepper flakes
Peel and chop the first four fruits and toss into a large pot. Peel and chop the oranges; cut the peels into thin matchstick pieces and add with the oranges to the pot.
As you begin to gently heat the mixture, stir in the minced garlic (yes, it’s a lot) and ginger, then stir in the remainder of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring very nearly constantly, then reduce the heat to a simmer and watch it for 45 to 50 minutes.
You’ll need to stir now and again, more so toward the end as it begins to thicken and darken just a bit, until it reaches the color and consistency you prefer. (Remember it will thicken as it cools too.).
Turn off the heat, let it cool, and do one of three things. If you’re ambitious, you can just spoon into a couple of quart jars and throw in the fridge; otherwise freeze it or hot-water process can it (15 minutes) and store.
Your fall grilled-protein menu (chicken, pork, and antelope in particular) just got a lot better.
Enjoy.
