The forecast says frost, and the tomato plants are still hung with hard green fruit. In a short, cool Scottish season that is a common end to the year, especially outdoors and in an unheated greenhouse. Pick the lot, bring some in to ripen, and turn the rest into this apple and green tomato chutney: a plain, unspiced batch that fills a row of jars for the winter.
- Makes
- about 3kg (roughly six or seven 450g jars)
- Prep
- salt the tomatoes and onions the day before
- Cooking time
- about 1 hour 10 minutes
- 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
- the end of the tomato season, when the first frost is forecast
Ingredients
- 2.5kg green tomatoes, firm and unmarked, quartered
- 500g red onions, chopped
- 1 tsp fine salt (not sea salt crystals, which leave the chutney gritty)
- 500g golden sultanas
- 500g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 500g golden caster sugar
- 1.14 litres cider vinegar, 5% acidity
Check the vinegar label says 5% acidity, and keep every quantity as written; for a bigger or smaller batch, scale every ingredient together (see the table below).
Method
- The day before, mix the tomatoes and onions with the salt.
- Tip them into a large colander set over a large bowl and leave overnight. Pour away the liquid that drains off; it isn't used.
- Sterilise your jars so they are clean, dry and still warm when the chutney is ready; time the oven or dishwasher to finish near the end of cooking (see the sterilising guide).
- Put the sugar and vinegar in a large stainless steel or unchipped enamel pan and bring to the boil. Don't use copper, brass or iron, which react with vinegar.
- Add the sultanas and apple and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the drained tomatoes and onions (no need to rinse them) and stir well.
- Simmer gently for 50 minutes to an hour, stirring from time to time so it doesn't stick. It's done when the chutney is thick and there is no liquid left on the surface.
- Spoon the hot chutney into the warm, sterilised jars, filling to about 1cm from the rim. Run a clean knife or skewer through each jar to release trapped air.
- Put new vinegar-proof lids on straight away, while the chutney is still hot. Clip-top jars and screw lids both work well.
- Label with the date, then store in a cool, dark cupboard to mature.
When to pick, and which fruit to use
Frost timing varies across Scotland, so check the frost dates for your area rather than waiting for the first white morning. The October guide covers the rest of the end-of-season jobs in the plot, and the tomato growing guide explains which fruit is worth bringing indoors to ripen.
Blight is the other reason plants get stripped early. It needs prolonged wet leaves, so a warm, wet late summer brings it on. Green fruit picked from blighted plants often rots if you try to ripen it indoors, so using it straight away in chutney is the better option.
Whatever the reason for picking, use only firm, fresh fruit with no sign of rot. Anything with brown patches, soft spots or mould goes on the compost, not in the pan.
Scaling the recipe to your harvest
Weigh the tomatoes once you've picked them. If you have more or less than 2.5kg, change the size of the whole batch, never just the tomatoes. Adding an extra kilo of tomatoes to the same vinegar and sugar thins out the acid that keeps the chutney safe. The per-kilo column lets you work out any batch: multiply it by your weight of tomatoes.
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch | Per 1kg of tomatoes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green tomatoes | 2.5kg | 1.25kg | 1kg |
| Red onions | 500g | 250g | 200g |
| Salt | 1 tsp | ½ tsp | a scant ½ tsp |
| Golden sultanas | 500g | 250g | 200g |
| Cooking apples | 500g | 250g | 200g |
| Golden caster sugar | 500g | 250g | 200g |
| Cider vinegar (5%) | 1.14 litres | 570ml | 455ml |
| Makes | about 3kg | about 1.5kg | about 1.2kg |
Weigh and measure everything, the vinegar included, rather than estimating. If you are short on tomatoes, scale the whole batch down rather than topping up with extra apple. The guide to mixing fruit and veg in preserves explains why swaps change more than the flavour.
Why the vinegar and sugar matter
The amount of vinegar and sugar in a chutney is what keeps it safe in the cupboard. Chutney needs to be acidic enough (pH 4.5 or lower) that bacteria are unlikely to grow, and that acid has to reach every part of the mixture, which is why extra tomatoes or water can't be added. Use vinegar of 5% acidity, never reduce the vinegar, and don't change the balance of vinegar, sugar and produce. A vinegar with no stated acidity isn't suitable. The jam and chutney from a glut article explains how sugar and acid preserve fruit and veg.
Sterilising, filling and sealing
Hot chutney goes into warm, sterilised jars, and the lids go on at once so a vacuum seal forms as it cools. Any of these methods sterilises the jars:
| Method | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oven | 160°C / gas mark 3 | 10 minutes |
| Dishwasher | Hot cycle | One full cycle |
| Hot water | Water above 90°C (just off the boil) | 10 minutes |
- Check the jar maker's instructions; some (Kilner, for example) advise against the oven for their jars.
- Jars must be completely dry before filling. After the hot-water method, stand them upside down on a clean rack until you fill them.
- Rubber seals and lids don't go in the oven. Heat them in water at 82°C, below boiling, for 10 minutes instead.
- Always use new lids, and discard any jar that is cracked or chipped.
- Vinegar needs a vinegar-proof lid. The guide to jars for preserving covers which lids and seals suit chutney.
Full details are in the sterilising guide.
Scottish council food-safety guidance for chutney makers (Scottish Borders and Orkney) uses hot-filling: sterilised jars, hot chutney and lids on straight away so a vacuum seal forms as it cools. Many American recipes add a further step, boiling the filled jars in a water-bath canner.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Still runny after an hour | Keep simmering and stirring until it's thick with no liquid on the surface. Don't add anything to thicken it. |
| Catching on the base | Turn the heat down and stir more often. Don't add water, which changes the proportions. |
| Darkening in the jar | Usually too much air left in the jar. Next time fill to about 1cm from the rim and release trapped air before sealing. |
| Lids marked or rusting | The lid wasn't vinegar-proof. If rust has reached the chutney, don't eat that jar. Use proper preserving lids next time. |
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 flavours mellow, so resist opening the first jar straight away. A batch made in October is ready in time for Christmas and Hogmanay. If a jar shows mould, or smells fermented, yeasty or of alcohol, throw the whole jar out rather than scraping the top off. The guide to how long preserves keep covers storage in more detail.
Common questions
Can I use red tomatoes in this recipe?
No. These proportions are for green tomatoes. For ripe ones, follow a recipe written for ripe tomatoes. For other ideas with a ripe glut, see sun-dried tomatoes the no-sun method.
Can I cut the sugar or the vinegar?
No. The amount of vinegar and sugar is what keeps the chutney safe, so keep them exactly as written. For a different-sized batch, scale every ingredient together.
What vinegar should I use?
Cider vinegar labelled 5% acidity. Don't use a vinegar whose acidity isn't stated.
What do I do with the liquid that drains from the tomatoes?
Pour it away. Only the drained tomatoes and onions go into the pan.
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.
How do I know it's cooked?
It's ready when it's thick and there is no liquid left on the surface. Allow 50 minutes to an hour after the tomatoes go in, but go by the texture rather than the clock, as some batches take longer.
Sources
Show the 15 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Kilner, Apple and Green Tomato Chutney (recipe by Pickled Walnut) (Kilner, archived copy): all ingredient quantities, yield (3kg), salting overnight in a colander, method order and simmer times, no sea salt crystals, warm sterile jars, clip tops and screw lids
- Tomato & celery chutney (National Federation of Women's Institutes): done test (thick, no liquid on the surface), stirring to prevent sticking, vinegar-proof lids
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia): cider vinegar of 5% acidity; don't alter vinegar, food or water proportions; don't use vinegar of unknown acidity; a minimum, uniform level of acid throughout the mixture; use fresh, firm produce free of spoilage
- Chutney (Penn State Extension): never reduce the vinegar; 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; chutney pH 4.5 or lower so bacteria are unlikely to grow; hot-fill and seal method; three sterilising methods; jars fully dry; don't reuse lids; discard cracked or chipped jars; lids on while hot for a vacuum seal
- Making Jam and Similar Products (Orkney Islands Council): three sterilising methods; don't reuse lids
- Sterilising Jam Jars & Hygiene (Kilner): caveat against oven sterilising for Kilner jars; simmering lids and seals at 82°C for 10 minutes
- Checklist for Chutneys (Kilner): maturing for about two months (at least 8 weeks); cool, dark storage
- 25 dirt-cheap ways to garden organically and save (Garden Organic): chutney keeps up to a year in a cool, dark place; maturing for at least a few weeks (2–3 weeks); opened chutney kept in the fridge
- Storing Home-Canned Jams and Jellies (National Center for Home Food Preservation): opened jars in the fridge within about a month; discarding jars with mould or a fermented, yeasty or alcohol smell
- General Information on Canning Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades (National Center for Home Food Preservation): US practice of processing filled jars in a boiling-water canner; mycotoxins found in mouldy preserves (why the whole jar goes)
- Tomato-Apple Chutney (National Center for Home Food Preservation): filling to about ½ inch (1cm) headspace and removing air bubbles
- Home Canning Equipment for Making Pickles (University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension): stainless steel or unchipped enamel pans; no copper, brass or iron with acid mixtures
- Tomato blight (RHS): blight needs prolonged wet leaves; green fruit from blighted plants often rots when ripened indoors, so use it straight away for chutney
- What to do with a glut of tomatoes (RHS): green tomatoes are perfect for chutney