With the new school year well under way, trees shedding their leaves and less daylight, I return to my chutney recipes. Looking ahead to December and the season of edible gifts, autumn is the perfect time to make chutney. After two to three months in storage it will be ready for eating, and giving to family and friends as a special gift. Serve chutneys with cold meats, fish, cheeses and curries. Mix them into stews and dips for extra flavour. Think savoury jam and that is chutney. Compared to jam there is less drama when you make chutney. Reaching a setting point is not necessary, just slow, gentle cooking to a thick consistency.
Chutney ingredients placed in a pan look unappetising; a mixture of chopped fruit, vegetables, spices and vinegar. After a few hours of simmering, with the sugar added, the random collection of ingredients is transformed into rich, dark, smooth-textured chutney: culinary magic in action. It is one preserve which lends itself to experimentation with spices and different combinations of fruit and vegetables.
Once the basic principles of making chutney have been mastered there are opportunities to play with different flavours. The heat in chutney from spices, particularly chilli varies from mild to hot. Careful labelling once the chutney has been made is essential, unless you wish to surprise yourself or the recipient.
First Preserves: Chutneys on iBooks®, my third ebook features recipes that can be made throughout the chutney-making season. It has galleries of informative colour photographs and embedded video. A helpful “Define, Highlight, Note and Search” facility allows the reader to obtain definitions, 
explore further information online and set up a personal notebook to record all their thoughts during the preserving process. It offers advice on preparing for competitions, divulges the key elements that judges are looking for and reveals the common faults in unsuccessful entries. All the equipment needed for successful chutney-making is described, with direct links to suppliers’ websites in the U.K, U.S and Australia.
For more preserves First Preserves: Marmalades – Jams – Chutneys
For a glimpse of the ebook please view this video.
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