Every autumn some of the apple crop won't keep: fruit that's bruised, marked or simply too many to fit in the store. This spiced apple chutney is a tested recipe that turns sharp cooking apples, onion, red pepper and golden raisins into a row of jars for the winter, with a short boiling-water step at the end to seal them.
- Makes
- about 2.8 litres (roughly six 475ml jars)
- Cooking time
- about 45 minutes simmering, then 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath (15 minutes above about 300m)
- Ready to eat
- after at least a few weeks, ideally around two months
- Keeps
- around a year unopened in a cool, dark cupboard
- In season
- autumn, when the apples are picked
Ingredients
- 3.8 litres sharp cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped (about 10 medium apples)
- 240ml onions, chopped
- 240ml sweet red pepper, chopped (about 1 medium)
- 10ml (2 tsp) red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 340g seedless golden raisins
- 950ml light brown sugar
- 45ml (3 tbsp) mustard seed
- 30ml (2 tbsp) ground ginger
- 10ml (2 tsp) ground allspice
- 10ml (2 tsp) fine salt (not flake salt)
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 950ml cider vinegar, 5% acidity
Measure the apples, onion, pepper and sugar by volume in a measuring jug rather than weighing them, because the proportions are set by volume; the chilli can be left out or swapped for another hot chilli, but never more than 10ml of it.
Method
- Wash and rinse jars that hold 475ml or less and keep them hot until you fill them. Use new lids and prepare them following the maker's instructions.
- Half-fill a deep pan that has a rack in the base with water and start heating it to hot but not boiling (about 82°C). This is the water bath.
- Put every ingredient into a large pan and bring it to the boil.
- Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45 minutes, until thickened. Stir often, and more often as it thickens, so it doesn't stick.
- Fill the hot chutney into the hot jars, leaving about 1.25cm (½ inch) of space below the rim.
- Run a clean knife or skewer through each jar to release trapped air, then wipe the rims clean.
- Put the lids on.
- Lower the filled jars into the water bath one at a time, keeping them upright. Top up with boiling water, poured around the jars rather than onto them, until the water is at least 2.5cm (1 inch) over the lids.
- Cover the pan and bring the water to a full boil. Only then start timing: 10 minutes, or 15 minutes if you live above about 300m (1,000ft). If the water stops boiling, bring it back to the boil and start the timing again from the beginning.
- Turn off the heat, take the lid off the pan and wait 5 minutes.
- Lift the jars out one at a time without tilting them, and set them on a towel or rack, not a cold surface.
- Leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check every lid has sealed. Put any jar that hasn't sealed in the fridge and eat it first.
- Label with the date and store in a cool, dark cupboard to mature. Any chutney that didn't fit in the jars goes in the fridge to eat fresh.
Which apples to use
Use sharp cooking apples picked from the tree. They ripen through the autumn, and the apple growing guide and October jobs cover when to pick them.
Leave fallen apples out. Fruit that drops is easily injured, and moulds that get into the damage can produce a toxin called patulin. Heat doesn't destroy it, and you can't see, smell or taste it, so dropped apples are best not used for chutney, cooking, juicing or eating fresh. For clearing windfalls and other uses for surplus fruit, see dealing with a glut of apples.
Bruises on a picked apple can be cut out: rinse the fruit, cut away the bruised or damaged parts and use the rest. Leave out any apple with rot or mould in it. Sorting the keepers from the ones to cook now is covered in storing apples and pears for winter.
Working from what you picked
The apples are measured after peeling, coring and chopping, so prepare them first and measure the chopped fruit in a jug, a jugful at a time. Apple sizes vary, so go by the measured volume rather than the count. If you have less than 3.8 litres, make the half batch below, scaling every ingredient together. Adding extra apple to the same vinegar weakens the acid.
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped cooking apples | 3.8 litres | 1.9 litres |
| Chopped onions | 240ml | 120ml |
| Chopped red pepper | 240ml | 120ml |
| Chopped red chilli (optional) | 10ml (2 tsp) | 5ml (1 tsp) |
| Seedless golden raisins | 340g | 170g |
| Light brown sugar | 950ml | 475ml |
| Mustard seed | 45ml (3 tbsp) | 22ml (1½ tbsp) |
| Ground ginger | 30ml (2 tbsp) | 15ml (1 tbsp) |
| Ground allspice | 10ml (2 tsp) | 5ml (1 tsp) |
| Fine salt (not flake) | 10ml (2 tsp) | 5ml (1 tsp) |
| Garlic | 1 clove | 1 small clove |
| Cider vinegar (5%) | 950ml | 475ml |
| Makes | about 2.8 litres | about 1.4 litres |
Swapping other fruit or veg for part of the apple changes the balance of acid in the jar, not just the flavour; mixing fruit and veg in preserves explains why.
Why the vinegar and sugar stay as written
The vinegar and sugar are what keep chutney safe in the cupboard. The acid from the vinegar stops harmful bacteria, moulds and yeasts growing, and it has to reach a minimum, even level right through the mixture to keep out the bacteria that cause botulism. So never reduce the vinegar, and don't change the balance of vinegar, sugar and fruit. Use cider vinegar labelled 5% acidity; a vinegar with no stated acidity isn't suitable.
Jars, lids and the water bath
Because the filled jars are boiled for 10 minutes or more, clean jars kept hot are enough. Sterilising them first (how to sterilise jars) does no harm. Discard any jar that is cracked or chipped. Always use new lids with the coating on the inside intact: vinegar corrodes bare metal, and a scratch from a metal tool lets it through. For which lids and seals suit chutney, see jars for preserving.
The processing time was worked out for jars no bigger than 475ml, so a 500ml jar is just too big. Water boils at a lower temperature the higher you live, which is why upland kitchens need the extra 5 minutes; some Scottish homes sit above 300m.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Catching on the base | Turn the heat down and stir more often, especially near the end. Don't add water, which changes the proportions. |
| A lid hasn't sealed | Keep that jar in the fridge and treat it as opened. |
| Darkening in the jar | Usually too much air left in the jar. Next time leave only about 1.25cm of space and release trapped air before sealing. |
| Mould, or a fermented, yeasty or alcohol smell | Throw the whole jar away. Don't scrape off the top. |
Maturing and storing
| Stage | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Maturing | Cool, dark cupboard | At least a few weeks, ideally around two months, before opening |
| Unopened | Cool, dark cupboard | Around a year |
| Opened | Fridge | Use within a few weeks to a month or two |
Maturing lets the spices mellow, so a batch made from October apples is ready by midwinter. More on shelf life and spotting spoilage is in how long preserves keep.
Common questions
Can I use windfalls?
It's best not to. Moulds in bruised, fallen fruit can produce a toxin that cooking doesn't destroy and that you can't detect, so use apples picked from the tree.
Can I use eating apples?
The quantities were worked out with tart apples, so sharp cooking apples are the closest match. Whatever apples you use, keep every other quantity the same.
Can I cut the sugar or the vinegar?
No. They're what keep the chutney safe, so keep them exactly as written. For a smaller batch, scale every ingredient together.
Do I have to do the water bath?
Yes. Some chutney recipes skip it and rely on hot chutney sealing itself in sterilised jars as it cools, but this recipe has only been tested with the water bath, so it's part of the method here. Allow 10 minutes, or 15 if you live above about 300m.
Can I leave out the chilli?
Yes. You can also use a different hot chilli, as long as you use no more than 10ml, finely chopped.
How long before I can eat it?
Leave it at least a few weeks, ideally around two months, before opening. Once open, keep it in the fridge and use it within a few weeks to a month or two.
Sources
Show the 16 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia), Apple Chutney (Elizabeth L. Andress, 2016): all ingredient quantities and yield; optional hot pepper not to exceed the listed amount; stockpot, simmer about 45 minutes stirring frequently; hot jars; ½ inch (1cm) headspace, air bubbles, wiping rims; boiling-water processing 10 min at 0–1,000 ft, 15 min at 1,001–6,000 ft, pint jars; cool 12–24 hours and check seals; refrigerate leftovers and opened jars; tart apples
- Using Boiling Water Canners (National Center for Home Food Preservation): preheat water to 180°F (82°C) for hot-packed jars; load jars upright; top up with boiling water poured around the jars to at least 1 inch over; time from a vigorous boil; restart timing if the boil stops; heat off, lid off, wait 5 minutes; lift jars without tilting onto towel or rack, not a cold surface; unsealed jars to the fridge and use first
- Sterilization of Empty Jars (National Center for Home Food Preservation): pre-sterilising needed only when processing time is under 10 minutes
- Harvesting and using fallen apples and pears (University of Minnesota Extension, Annalisa Hultberg, 29 Sept 2022): dropped apples not recommended for fresh eating, juicing, baking or canning; patulin from moulds in injured apples; heat-stable; can't be seen, smelled or tasted
- Apples (University of Illinois Extension): cut away bruised or damaged areas before preserving; fruit free from spoilage and mould
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): cider vinegar of 5% acidity; don't alter vinegar, food or water proportions; no vinegar of unknown acidity; minimum, uniform acid level throughout to prevent the growth of botulinum bacteria
- Salts Used in Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): canning/pickling salt recommended; table salt safe to use; flake salt not recommended
- Testing Jelly Without Added Pectin (National Center for Home Food Preservation): boiling point of water falls with elevation (why altitude adds time)
- Frequently Asked Preservation Question: Pinholes in Lids (Penn State Extension): acids corrode metal lids; metal tools scratch the inner enamel coating
- Chutney (Penn State Extension): never reduce the vinegar; vinegar acidity stops pathogenic bacteria, moulds and yeasts; darkening in storage from air left in the jar
- Food Safety and Labelling Guidance for small scale home producers of chutneys, pickles, flavoured oils and jams (Scottish Borders Council): vinegar and sugar amounts essential for safety; don't reuse lids; discard cracked or chipped jars
- Making Jam and Similar Products (Orkney Islands Council): don't reuse lids
- Checklist for Chutneys (Kilner): maturing at least 8 weeks; cool, dark storage
- 25 dirt-cheap ways to garden organically and save (Garden Organic): chutney up to a year in a cool, dark place; maturing 2–3 weeks minimum; opened chutney in the fridge
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation): opened jars in the fridge within about a month; discard jars with mould or a fermented, yeasty or alcohol smell
- General Information on Canning Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades (National Center for Home Food Preservation): mycotoxins found in mouldy preserves (why the whole jar goes)