Cha-Cha-Chutney

The Bounty of Summer! Peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots... all of your stone fruits are great for making chutney. Figs! One of my favorites and a much neglected delicacy is great for chutney, too. So go to the market and get some summer fruit - or if you have a friend with a tree, even better. 

I like foods that go POW! in your mouth, and a good chutney is one of those kind of foods. It should be sweet, savory, tart, spicy and contain many layers of flavor that unfold like waves of an earthquake in your sensory system when you eat it. Chutney is a concentrated food - a condiment. If you come across a  chutney recipe that calls for water, don't believe it!

Once you understand the basic principles of chutney, you can play around with ingredients and don't really need a recipe at all. In my understanding, a recipe is merely a suggestion, anyway. Unless you're baking, and then there are a different set of rules.

THE FRUIT When choosing your fruit for chutney, always pick something seasonal - peaches, mangoes, apricots in the summer;  plums, pears, apples later in the year. Use fruit that has some fiber and heft to it. Watery fruits like melon and berries are not very suited. They are reserved for other delights. Make sure your fruit is ripe - in ripeness lies flavor. Rock hard peaches or mango will make for a tasteless chutney.

DRIED FRUIT The addition of a dried fruit is very helpful when making chutney. It will add depth and also structure to the consistency. Raisins - golden and dark, depending on your main fruit, are great. Dried cranberries and currants go well with lighter fruits, such as pears and apples. You can even use dried apricots or apples.

SAVORY The savory element will come from onion, garlic, hot peppers and ginger. It's important to chop these ingredients into small dice. They are supposed to provide an underlying element of surprise and not be big crunchy chunks that overpower.Chutney also likes salt. It's not a salty condiment, but the salt will bring out and marry all the flavors. No salt will make your chutney flat.

SWEET Sweet comes from the fresh fruit, the dried fruit and sugar. I almost always use brown sugar, though some recipes suggest white. Depending on your fruit, the ripeness and natural sweetness, you'll want to use more or less sugar. The finished product should be sweet but not cloying. Always taste your ingredients to make an educated decision about the sugar.

TART Tart comes from vinegar and citrus. Original Indian chutney was pretty sour, but British influence and development have made it sweeter. I like my chutney to have a bit of a tang without being jarring. The tart/sour element should be the perfect balance to the afore mentioned sweet. Depending on your fruit, you can use vinegars of varying acidity: apple cider, red wine, white wine vinegars are awesome. I would steer away from rice wine vinegar (too weak) and balsamic vinegar (too sweet and strong). You can also add chopped up lemon with peel, lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, lime zest. You can cook strips of zest with your chutney and fish them out later.

SPICE Spice is essential. Depending on your fruits and the flavor profile, you can use cinnamon sticks, star anise (one of my favs), cloves, allspice (whole or ground), mustard seed, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg (rarely).More often than not, it's advisable to use the whole spice and fish it out of the finished chutney later. But in a pinch, you can used powdered spices as well - better than none. Mustard seed will remain in the chutney and add fun little blond dots of flavor. Ginger is an important element in most chutneys. Use fresh root if you can - peel and either grate it, or chop it in super fine dice and add it to your mixture.

If you've suffered through my tome about chutney, you'll now enjoy two recipes I'd like to share.

Cranberry Chutney over Baby Brie with Toasted Pecans

Fresh Fig Chutney

This is best made when figs are in season, which is fall. Figs are sweet, though not as sweet as you might think when they are fresh. Slightly underripe figs will work best for this particular chutney (I know that contradicts my earlier statement). They cut up better and taste better in this context.

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 pieces of star anise
1 tsp allspice - ground
1 1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup dark raisins
Zest of one lemon
1 tart apple peeled, cored and chopped
1 small onion or 1/2 larger onion, chopped fine
1 pound of fresh figs - any kind will work - stemmed and cut into smallish pieces.

Put everything except the figs into a non-reactive saucepan, stir around and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium and allow the the liquid to reduce a bit - about 10 minutes. Add the chopped figs and stir. Simmer until the liquid is quite thick, about 20 minutes. Once the chutney is cooled, it will set up, too. So you don't want it to be gummy, but also not soupy.

When it has reached the right consistency, put it in clean or sterilized jars. This will make about two good-sized jars full. If you have not used a canning method, refrigerate and consume within 4-6 weeks. This chutney is very good with cheese - sharp cheddar, brie, etc. Or with lighter meats - pork (which I personally shun), turkey, chicken, etc.

Peach (or Plum) Chutney

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar or more to taste depending on your fruit
3/4 cup finely diced onion
1 jalapeno pepper, cored and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped, or grated if you have a ginger grater
1 Cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup golden raisins

2 pounds of peaches (or plums), blanched, skinned and chopped in smallish bits.

Combine all ingredients except the fresh fruit in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce a little until the liquid is slightly syrupy. Add fresh fruit, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes - stir occasionally. The liquid should be reduced, the fruit should be very soft.

Put into very clean jars and store in the fridge for up to 4-6 weeks. Or use a canning method and store until the ages. You can also warm the chutney and pour it over a whole brie - or a wedge, and of course enjoy with hot and cold meats. Many vegetarian dishes will benefit from chutney as well.

Try your hand at chutney - it's a fun and delicious condiment.

Peck of Pickled... Pickles

I would venture to say, if you start pickling, you won't be able to stop. It is easy. It is inexpensive. It is good!

You can pickle just about anything, but some foods work better than others. The less watery, the better. Carrots, radishes, daikon radish, beets, cauliflower, peppers, onions, beans - all good pickling vegetables. You can pickle meat as well - though I don't have any experience with it. Corned beef is pickled beef. My dad used to make it  - and I remember that flavor fondly!

We are all familiar with The Pickle, of course. For pickles you use pickling cucumbers. They don't taste so great raw, unlike "real" cucumbers. They're slightly bitter and have a difficult texture. But once you pickle them - oh yum! They are fibrous and sturdy enough to hold up to the pickling process. With acid and salt you are basically breaking down the structure of whatever you are pickling and allowing flavors to infuse. The pickling process also creates good and vital enzymes - great for your digestive tract, great for balancing the pH level in your body, and great for ensuring sufficient electrolytes for your system. So pickle away!

Let me share something here - make only as many pickles as you are going to be able to eat and/or give away. It is easy to get overly enthusiastic and end up with jars and jars of pickled things that take up room in your refrigerator and never get eaten. I would recommend going for pickling diversity rather than pickling quantity.

That said - here's a guide for making good ol' pickles:

4 large, or 6-8 smaller pickling cucumbers - about 2 pounds total
2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (for this you don't have to use raw vinegar - you'll be heating the pickling liquid and any enzymes in the vinegar would be killed)
1 cup of water
3-4 Tbsp kosher salt (don't use regular table salt or your pickles will taste awful)
Several twigs of dill weed (might be difficult to get if you don't grow it, or have a farmer who supplies it. You can use a twig of dill if you must, but it won't be quite the same)
1 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp black pepper corns
1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 Palm full of whole allspice
2 bay leaves
As many peeled (and halved garlic cloves that you want - I'd recommend 2-3 cloves per jar)

Now you can use all of these spiced or a combination of fewer of them. Up to you. This is just what I used. 

Depending on what kind of jars you have and how big your pickles are, cut them in spears, chunks, slices, or any other way you want. The thinner and smaller you cut them, the stronger the pickle taste will be - so take that into consideration.

Pack the pickles, garlic, dill weed into your (very clean) jars. This might take a bit of time - but worth it.

Put the vinegar, water, salt, spices in a pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Off the heat, while the liquid is still really hot, ladle the pickling liquid - whole spices and all (minus the bay leaves) - over the pickles in the jars. Fill 'er up! Place on the lid of each filled jar immediately and screw it tight. Make sure you get the spices evenly in all the jars. Turn the jars this way and that to make sure the spices get everywhere.

And here's a trick so your jars won't crack or explode from the hot liquid: Wet a dishtowel - ring it out, and place over a cutting board. Put your jars on the wet towel to fill them with hot liquid. This applies to the filling of anything with hot stuff - like jam, chutney, etc.

Generally, I'll turn my filled and closed jars upside down and let them cool that way. The heat of the liquid will create a vacuum, which prolongs the  life of the pickles. Once they are cooled, put them in the fridge and let them live there until they are consumed.

You'll have to wait a week before you can eat the pickles. Worth the wait!

Shelf life? Since these are not actually canned, their life is a bit limited. But pickles are going to last longer than a lot of other things. Rule of thumb: unopened - 3 months. Once opened, consume within two weeks.

Pickled Peppers!

Are you excited about pickling? I hope so! Using all the information above, you can pickle sweet peppers, too! Leave out the dill weed and add some thinly sliced onion instead.

Sweet peppers come in three colors - red, orange, yellow. They have no or very little heat and are darling to look at. They can be eaten just like the pickle up there - with or on a sandwich, as an hors d'oeuvre with cheese and crackers. You can slice them up and use them in salad or create a fun relish with a few of your pickled things.

Start with about 2 pounds of small sweet peppers. Wash them well, clip their stems close to the pepper. Score each pepper with three slits. Pack them into clean jars with garlic and thin onion slices. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the peppers and shake the jar a little. The scored peppers will actually absorb some liquid and the shaking will expedite the process. Top off with more pickling liquid and close tightly with the lid.

Again - wait a week before cracking open your first jar. 

Not only are these beautiful, they are really good, too!

Pickle on! Try the same method with jalapenos, mixed vegetables, and more!