Cranberry Chutney (small batch)

 

 

One thing which I like to make every year for the holidays is Cranberry Chutney. Its an old recipe which I got from an old friend many years ago named Bergy. She passed away just a few months ago now. She was an excellent cook and loved to share her recipes.   

We met on a cooking site about 18 years or so ago now. The name of the original site was RecipeZaar and it was a wonderful community of people, all of whom loved to share recipes.  Bergy was just one of the members who I came to know and love. 

 

This beautiful chutney has been a firm favourite on my holiday table for many years now. It goes great with turkey of course, but also with all sorts of cold meats and cheeses. It also makes a great Hostess Gift.

This year there are only going to be a few of us for Christmas and we don't want to be eating things like this for too long afterwards.  I also haven't made many friends here yet for sharing with, and so I decided to take the bull by the horns this year and downsize my original recipe for this beautiful chutney. 

You can find the full recipe here. It makes approximately 4 cups. Of course you can surmise by the name of the recipe that one of the main ingredients is fresh cranberries, which are very abundant at this time of year!

 

The cranberry has to be one of my favourite fruits. Cranberries have been well known to be able to protect you from a variety of diseases. They are truly a super-fruit!

Nutrient dense and packed with anti-oxidents they are native to North America and grown extensively along the North Eastern part of America and Eastern Canada. There are actually cranberry bogs not too far from where I am now living. 

 

A half cup of cranberries contains just 20 calories. It also comes with its own range of health benefits. Regular intake of this fruit can help you reduce your risk of high blood pressure, certain cancers and urinary tract infection. 

 

It is also known to rejuvenate your immune system. For a small berry they truly pack a huge punch! 

You will need a small quantity of candied peel for this recipe. I like to chop my own peel for these types of things that I can. You can buy quality candied peel in good cook shops and quality grocers.

You can also make your own, but be warned it is very labour intensive.  I made some one year and you can find my recipe for that here.  

 

I will tell you one thing, buying your peels whole and ready to chop or making your own is far superior to any you will find in the shops that is already chopped. 

Other than that you will only need a few other simple ingredients, which I am sure most of us already have in our homes.  Chopped onion, garlic.  Some spices, cloves, celery seed, ground ginger and dried chilies.

You will also need lemon juice, vinegar, water, white and brown sugars. Simple really. And it is very, very easy to make.  Dan came upstairs just a little while ago and said something smells really good!  Just what I like to hear! 

Dan is a man of very specific likes and dislikes. If he thought it smelled good, then there was a good chance that he might actually like eating it.  My father on the other hand  . . . 

He is not one to want to try anything out of the ordinary. Not anything, but that's okay. My sister and I will be all over this delicious conserve! 

On this occasion I chose to moderate my use of dried chillies. You can use more or less according to how much heat you like in your chutneys.  Because I was making it for people with not so varied tastes, I chose to be moderate and only added a pinch.

Chutney by its very nature is supposed to be a bit spicy. You can make a chutney with just about anything.  One of the first things we learned to make when I was in Culinary School was chutney. 

Chutneys are a form of spicy condiment which originated in the cuisine from the Indian sub-continent. They are very popular to serve along with curries. One of the most common kinds is Mango Chutney, and I adore it.

In the UK there are huge varieties of chutney's available containing any number of ingredients and flavours.  They are usually fruity, sweet, tangy and spicy, and go great with all kinds of meats and cheeses. 

 They are great with all kinds of cheeses and I always like to include a little pot of chutney on my cheese trays.  They also go very well on chacuterie trays! 

This chutney is made to go perfectly with turkey and ham. Both along side of the roast, or on Boxing Day with cold sliced turkey and ham as a part of your Boxing Day Buffet. 

Personally I really enjoy it on sandwiches, ham or turkey. I do love my post-Christmas turkey sandwiches.  I normally have them with some of the sliced turkey, some stuffing and then cranberry sauce, but I can tell you, they are excellent when you add a smidgen of this delicious chutney.

Dangit!  Remembering how very good this is, I am thinking I should have made a larger batch. No worries, it is easy enough to make and I still have plenty of cranberries. 

For me, it just wouldn't be Christmas without some of this delicious Cranberry Chutney. I really, really hope that everyone in this house also enjoys it. If not, well then I will know for next year.

I have high hopes for next year however.  I am really hoping that I am in my own place by then, and that I can have my family with me from out of province.   

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been more than a bit of a wash-out!  I am hoping for much better in 2021.  With the arrival of the vaccine, hopefully this virus can be brought under control and by December of next year we should truly be able to get back to celebrating things in a more normal way! 

In the meantime, small batch Cranberry Chutney. Its a good thing. A very good thing.

Small Batch Cranberry Chutney

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Yield: Makes 1 (1/2 pint) jar

Author: Marie Rayner

prep time: 10 Mincook time: 45 Mintotal time: 55 Min

This simple recipe for a delicious Christmas Chutney makes just one jar. Its delicious!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (75g) fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup (35g) sultanas (150g)
•   2 TBS chopped candied peel
•   2 TBS chopped peeled onion
•   1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/4 (60ml) cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup (60ml) cup water
• 1/4 (50g) cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 TBS lemon juice
•   1/2 tsp salt
• Pinch ground cloves
•   1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/4  tsp ground ginger
•   pinch dried chilies

Instructions

1. Place the vinegar, water, both sugars, lemon juice and salt into a heavy non-reactive saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring to help dissolve the sugar.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved add the cranberries, sultanas, candied peel, onions, garlic, cloves, celery seed, ginger and chilies. Simmer gently, stirring often, uncovered for 45 minutes.
3. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
4. This will keep for up to a year.
5. You can, of course, just put it into jars for giving away and immediate use, but if you do want to keep it longer, you really must process it in the water bath. Enjoy!

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