For chutney, reach for damsons. They're a close relative of the plum, smaller and less sweet, slightly tart raw but rich in flavour once cooked, and ideal for preserves. This spiced damson chutney uses apples, onions, raisins and malt vinegar, and it cooks slowly until it is thick and dark enough to hold a spoon line.
- Makes
- six 350ml jars (sold as 1lb jars)
- Prep time
- about 25 minutes to stone the fruit
- Cooking time
- 2 to 3 hours simmering
- 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
- from late summer, when the damsons are ripe and soft on the tree
Ingredients
- 1.35kg damsons, weighed whole before stoning
- 450g cooking apples, cored but not peeled
- 3 largish onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 450g seedless raisins
- 450g dark soft brown sugar
- 450g demerara sugar
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 heaped tsp ground ginger
- 2 small cinnamon sticks
- 25g allspice berries
- 1 dessertspoon (10ml) whole cloves
- 1.2 litres malt vinegar, 5% acidity
You'll also need a stainless steel preserving pan or stockpot (the acid can react with other metals), a 30cm square of muslin with string, six waxed discs and six vinegar-proof lids.
Method
- Take the stones out of the damsons. Either slit each one along its natural line and twist out the stone, or stew the damsons gently in 275ml of the vinegar in the stainless steel pan, let the pulp cool until it is comfortable to handle, and pick out the stones as they come free, wearing rubber gloves. Either way takes about 25 minutes.
- Put the stoned damsons (and their vinegar, if you stewed them) into the preserving pan.
- Chop the cored apples finely and add them to the pan.
- Chop the onions finely and add them.
- Crush the garlic and add it, with the ginger, raisins, both sugars and the rest of the vinegar.
- Sprinkle in the salt and stir everything together thoroughly.
- Tie the cinnamon, allspice and cloves loosely in the muslin, then tie the bag to the pan handle so it hangs down in the chutney.
- Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer very gently for 2 to 3 hours. Stir now and then, and more often towards the end so it doesn't stick.
- Sterilise the jars while it cooks (see how to sterilise jars) and keep them hot.
- Test it: when almost all the vinegar has gone and the chutney is thick and soft, draw a wooden spoon across the surface. It's ready when the channel stays open for a few seconds without filling with vinegar.
- Lift out the spice bag. Fill the hot chutney into the hot jars, as full as you can.
- Put a waxed disc on each, then screw on a new vinegar-proof lid straight away, while the chutney is hot.
- Once cold, press the centre of each lid. A sealed lid is curved down slightly and doesn't move; if it springs up, that jar goes in the fridge to eat soon, as you would an opened jar.
- Label the sealed jars and store them in a cool, dark cupboard to mature.
Getting every stone out
A stone missed in the pan ends up in someone's mouth months later, so take your time over step 1. Halving and twisting is slow but shows you each stone as it comes out. Stewing first is quicker to set up, but the stones hide in the dark pulp. If you stew them, count the damsons as they go into the pan and count the stones as you pick them out; when the two numbers match, you're done. Squeeze the pulp through your gloved fingers one last time before it goes on to cook.
Picking the fruit
Damsons develop their best flavour when left to ripen on the tree. They're ready to pick once they feel soft when gently squeezed. Leave out any fruit that is mouldy or rotten. Late-flowering varieties suit colder areas because the blossom is frost-sensitive; the damson growing guide names them, and Scottish frost dates show how late the spring frosts run where you live.
A half batch
Six jars is a lot of stoning. For a smaller pan, halve every ingredient together, including the vinegar used for stewing the stones out. A smaller batch may thicken sooner, so start the spoon test earlier.
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch |
|---|---|---|
| Damsons | 1.35kg | 675g |
| Cooking apples, cored | 450g | 225g |
| Largish onions | 3 | 1½ |
| Garlic | 3 cloves | 1½ cloves |
| Seedless raisins | 450g | 225g |
| Dark soft brown sugar | 450g | 225g |
| Demerara sugar | 450g | 225g |
| Sea salt | 2 tbsp | 1 tbsp |
| Ground ginger | 2 heaped tsp | 1 heaped tsp |
| Cinnamon sticks | 2 small | 1 small |
| Allspice berries | 25g | 12.5g |
| Whole cloves | 1 dessertspoon | ½ dessertspoon |
| Malt vinegar (5%) | 1.2 litres | 600ml |
| of which for stewing stones out | 275ml | about 140ml |
| Makes | six 350ml jars | three 350ml jars |
Why you can't cut the vinegar or sugar
The amounts of vinegar and sugar are essential to keeping chutney safe in the cupboard. The acid stops harmful bacteria, moulds and yeasts from growing, and it has to reach a minimum, even level right through the mixture to stop the bacteria that cause botulism from growing. Never reduce the vinegar, and don't change the balance of fruit, vinegar and sugar. Use malt vinegar labelled 5% acidity; a vinegar with no stated acidity isn't suitable. Cook it in a stainless steel pan: the acid can draw metal out of other pans and pit them.
Jars and lids
Fill the jars while both the chutney and the jars are hot, and put the lids on at once so a vacuum seal forms as it cools. Sterilise the jars by any one of these methods:
| Method | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oven | 160°C (gas mark 3) | 10 minutes |
| Dishwasher | Hot cycle | One full cycle |
| Hot water | Above 90°C | 10 minutes |
Check the jar maker's instructions; some (Kilner, for example) advise against the oven for their jars. The jars must be fully dry before filling. Discard any jar that is cracked or chipped. Treat lids and rubber seals separately from the jars: Kilner advises simmering its lids and seals at 82°C for 10 minutes, and other lids should be treated as their maker says. How to sterilise jars has the full method.
Use new lids every time, never old ones. Vinegar corrodes bare metal, so the lid needs an intact coating on the inside; a scratch from a metal tool lets the acid through. Jars for preserving covers which lids and seals suit chutney.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Still runny after 3 hours | Keep simmering gently until the spoon channel stays open. Don't add water, which changes the proportions. |
| Catching on the base | Turn the heat down and stir more often, especially near the end. |
| A lid hasn't sealed | Keep that jar in the fridge and eat it soon, as you would an opened jar. |
| Darkening in the jar | Usually air left in the jar. Fill the jars as full as you can next time. |
| Tastes harsh when fresh | That's normal. The flavour mellows as the chutney matures. |
| 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 |
More on shelf life and spotting spoilage is in how long preserves keep. If the apple trees are cropping at the same time, apple chutney uses up the rest of the surplus, and green tomato chutney takes the green tomatoes left when the first frost ends the season.
Common questions
Can I use ordinary plums instead of damsons?
Not in this recipe. Plums are sweeter than damsons, and the balance of fruit, sugar and vinegar here is set for damsons; mixing fruit and veg in preserves explains why swapping the main fruit matters. Plums can be stoned and frozen, or made into jam; dealing with a glut of plums and the plum growing guide have more.
Do I have to peel the apples?
No. Core them and chop them finely with the peel on.
Can I cut the sugar or the vinegar?
No. For a smaller batch, scale every ingredient together, as in the half-batch table.
Why does the cooking time range from 2 to 3 hours?
The chutney is done when it's thick enough, not after a set time, so trust the spoon test over the clock. Stir more often as it thickens, because that's when it starts to catch.
Can I eat it straight away?
You can, but the vinegar tastes harsh at first; the flavour mellows over the maturing time.
Sources
Show the 15 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Delia Smith, Spiced Damson Chutney (Delia Online): all ingredient quantities and yield (six 1lb/350ml jars); apples cored, not peeled; two stoning methods (halve and twist, or stew in ½ pint/275ml of the vinegar and remove stones wearing rubber gloves), about 25 minutes; spices in muslin tied to the pan handle; simmer very gently 2 to 3 hours, stirring more often towards the end; channel test; fill hot jars as full as possible; waxed disc and vinegar-proof lid; cool cupboard; chutney mellows before eating
- Preservation Principles in Chutney (National Center for Home Food Preservation): stainless steel pan prevents metal leaching into the food and pitting of the pan
- Cooling Jars and Testing Jar Seals (National Center for Home Food Preservation): press the centre of the lid; a sealed lid is curved down and doesn't move; one that springs up hasn't sealed; unsealed jars to the fridge
- Damsons: grow your own (RHS): damsons fruit in late summer; damsons smaller and less sweet than plums; slightly tart raw, rich when cooked, ideal for jams and preserves; best flavour ripened on the tree, ready when soft when gently squeezed; blossom frost-sensitive, late-flowering varieties for colder regions
- Plums: grow your own (RHS): damsons a close relative of plums; plums can be de-stoned and frozen, or made into jams and preserves
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): 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
- 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): three jar-sterilising methods (oven 160°C/gas 3 for 10 minutes, hot dishwasher cycle, water above 90°C for 10 minutes); jars fully dry; lids on immediately while hot for a vacuum seal; don't reuse lids; discard cracked or chipped jars; vinegar and sugar amounts essential for safety; acidity of chutneys means bacteria are unlikely to grow
- Making Jam and Similar Products (Orkney Islands Council): same three sterilising methods; don't reuse lids
- Sterilising Jam Jars & Hygiene (Kilner): advises against oven-sterilising its jars; lids and seals simmered at 82°C for 10 minutes
- Frequently Asked Preservation Question: Pinholes in Lids (Penn State Extension): acids corrode metal lids; metal tools scratch the inner enamel coating and let acid through
- 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 to 3 weeks for flavours to mellow; 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)