Our friend Irvine recently gave us a big bag of apples from his trees, so this week I decided to make a batch of chutney and also to augment the pink currants from our garden and make a batch of jelly. I’d picked up a couple of mum’s books last time I was home, so yesterday I opened one and was immediately transported back to their kitchen on the Isle of Wight, with mum checking her cupboards for dry ingredients as I peeled and chopped the apples I’d picked from neighbours’ trees.
WI Jam flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Her WI book is dogeared and stained – with recipes cut out from magazines and taped into the back with mum’s notations across them. The book falls open at a chutney recipe with two ticks – so that was the one I decided to make. Mum had recorded her version of the recipe – and after looking through my cupboards this morning and working out proportions I noted down my own version – I’d originally planned to walk down to the shops this morning and buy more vinegar and sugar, but I wanted to get it cooking while awaiting a delivery so this was what I had available.
Chutney recipes flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
It took a while to peel and chop the fruit (the recipe said to mince it, and I imagined mum’s raised eyebrows at the thought of taking the time to do that – chopped small was close enough!).
Chutney flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Of course, after cooking it for ages, it was ready to put into jars just as it was time for lunch, but chutney is easier to manage than marmalade, so I turned off the gas and left it cooling while we ate lunch. The result is seven jars – a big one for Irvine to say thanks for the apples, the rest for us.
Chutney flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Now I know, because Delia says so, that I have to wait till my chutney has matured – but I couldn’t resist trying it out mid-afternoon on some oatcakes. It’s pretty good.
Oatcakes and chutney flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
But the rest will be stored in a dark cupboard for a few weeks – I promise!
The juice is now straining from the currants and apples ready to make jelly tomorrow…
