Chutneys are one of those things I discovered late in life. A friend (with more culinary savvy than I) plunked a jar of Major Grey’s Chutney on the table to go with some cheese and rustic bread. The combo of cheddar, crust and chutney made me sit up and take notice. Chutney and I have been on a first name basis ever since.
So just what is chutney? Derived from the East Indian word “chatni,” chutney is a wonderfully spicy condiment with a kick (and at times downright hot), incorporating fruits and/or vegetables with vinegar, sugar and spices. The mixture is then cooked slowly to meld the flavors and create desired consistency, which can range from a soft paste to a chunky sauce. Chutney is my preferred condiment (only matched by my love of mayonnaise). I’ll plop a dollop on roasted chicken, or smear a spoonful atop a cream cheese and lox ladened bagel, or add a couple spoonfuls to spice up rice.
Recently a friend shared his ample crop of quince with me, no doubt compelled to intervene after hearing me whine about my wimpy crop. Quince chutney was the first thing I made, followed by quince marmalade. Here’s my quince chutney recipe adapted from The British Larder, a UK restaurant generous enough to share their inspired recipes featuring fresh and local produce and meats. This is now one of my favorites.
Quince Chutney Recipe (adapted from The British Larder)
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1.5 cup golden raisins
- 3 pounds ripe quinces
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- one large thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger, grated fine
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Peel and dice the quinces into 1-inch diced pieces.
- Place all of the ingredients with seasoning in a large saucepan over low heat to dissolve the sugar.
- Once the sugar has dissolved bring the mixture to a rapid boil, stir and lower temperature to simmer until the chutney becomes thick. Stir regularly to prevent the chutney from scorching. You can also remove from heat at any time and resume simmering later if time constraints.
- Cook until the chutney is a thick spreadable consistency.
This is mouthwatering! it reminds me of the manfo pickle I learned to make when I was working on that Iraqi cookbook; the Iraqi love chutneys, no boubt a legacy from the British Love the idea to make some with quince, we havea bunch of quince and I can’t be making quince pie all day long.
Quince pie, um now maybe that’s what I’ll do with the rest!
Have you ever had quince paste? In Spain and Portugal they put a slice of manchego cheese and a slice of quince paste on bread or a cracker. It is wonderful! I looked at a recipe online and it did not seem all that difficult to make. Maybe you should put this on your list of things to try;-)
Karen, I have a few left so I’m going to try making it, I believe its called Membrillo. I’ll let you know how it goes.
My favorite Chutney is made with the figs the cardinals are gracious enough to leave me. A combination of figs, apples, rasins, onions, ginger, and all the wonderful spices. Delicious with pork roast!!
Bonney, that sounds wonderful. I have some Bramleys apples begging to be used. Guess I’ll just have used dried figs for now. Thanks for the inspiration!
This winter will you post photos of your pantry shelves? I am so impressed by everything you put into jars! This chutney sounds heavenly.
Hi Eileen,
You got it, plus it will be an incentive to straighten things up a bit before I begin my pantry photo essay.
Tom, your chutney looks wonderful. I have not been able to find a mail order source for quince trees. Do you know one? I once made jelly from a large crop of flowering quince fruit. It was quite good. You might want to try that with your remaining quince.
Check out onegreenworld.com for great quince trees by mail order. They have more varieties than any place I’ve seen. Here’s the link to that page: https://www.onegreenworld.com/Quince,%20Fruiting/368/
As for jelly, great minds think alike 😉 I’m going to combine it with Bramley’s apples for combo jelly.
[…] you ask… What can I make with them? You can try a delicious Quince Chutney from Tall Clover Farm or this Honey Poached Quince Pie. When you cook quince they turn to a […]
total time for simmer? Steps 2 & 3?
Hi Madeline, it’s more about how it looks. If the mixture is thick and chunky and incorporated, it’s good to go. I would say that is usually for me around 15 – 20 minutes of cooking on low heat for a gentle simmer, but stirring regularly.
[…] what do you do with them?” I happily share two recipes. One I’ve already posted: Quince Chutney; and another big favorite I will provide here, Quince […]
The key to tasty chutney is to not over cook it!
Laura, that does add for a fresh tasting, lively chutney. Sometimes I like to cook it down, like Major Grey’s, for an entirely different kind of chutney, one I like to spread on sandwiches.
Hi All, This chutney is so good. My mother used to make it. It would seem that your quince chutney is less cumbersome to make. Thank you that. I would like a good prickly pear chutney recip please.
Please send via e-mail. Thank you much.
Take care, Edv.
Hi Ed, I don’t have a good prickly pear chutney recipe as I have never tried it. Sorry. Perhaps I’ll do a little research when time allows.
Thanks!
Tom
Can you use Splenda instead of sugar in this recipe!?
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, I really don’t know anything about artificial sweeteners and their use in canning. I did find this article from what appears to be a reliable source on the subject: https://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_general.html
Good Luck!
How long do you water bath can?
I water bath at simmer for 15 minutes for pint jars and smaller.
Thanks very much!
Hello, how many jars would you need for this recipe please?
Hi Kelly, I usually use half pint jars, so I need about 7-8 of those per recipe made. cheers, Tom
[…] Quince Chutney […]
Where is the recipe ???
It’s there now, so sorry Sue. The software for my recipe went south, so I am having to add each recipe manually now. Ah technology.