A pear tree tends to hand over its crop all at once, and the fruit comes off hard. This spiced pear chutney is a tested recipe that uses firm pears with raisins, onion, mustard seed, ginger and a hot chilli, cooked down slowly and sealed with a short boiling-water step so the jars keep through the winter.
- Makes
- about 3.3 litres (roughly seven 475ml jars)
- Cooking time
- about 40 minutes cooking, then 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath
- 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
- late summer into autumn, when the pears are picked
Ingredients
- 3.8 litres firm pears, peeled, cored and finely chopped (about 20 medium pears)
- 240ml raisins
- 240ml onions, chopped (about 1 medium)
- 475ml to 710ml brown sugar
- 1.2 litres cider or white distilled vinegar, 5% acidity
- 60ml mustard seed
- 30ml (2 tbsp) ginger
- 10ml (2 tsp) salt
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 hot red chilli
Measure the pears, raisins, onion, sugar and vinegar by volume in a measuring jug, because the recipe's proportions are all by volume.
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.
- Cook slowly until thick, about 40 minutes, stirring often 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. 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 treat it as opened.
- Label with the date and store in a cool, dry, dark cupboard to mature.
Which pears to use
Pears are picked just before they're fully ripe, when they're firm and swollen with a subtle change of colour, and then finish ripening indoors. Firm, slightly underripe pears are the ones to use, because underripe fruit keeps its shape and texture better. There's no need to wait for a bowl of hard pears to soften. Of the common varieties, Conference grows relatively well in cooler conditions, which is worth knowing in a cool Scottish garden; the pear growing guide covers it, and when each type is ready to pick.
Leave fallen pears out. Fruit that drops is easily cracked or bruised, and moulds that get into injured fruit can produce a toxin that heat doesn't destroy. Sorting the pears worth keeping from the ones to use now is covered in storing apples and pears for winter.
Working from what you picked
The pears are measured after peeling, coring and chopping, so prepare them first and measure the chopped fruit a jugful at a time. Around 20 medium pears make the full amount, but 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 pear to the same vinegar weakens the acid.
| Ingredient | Full batch | Half batch |
|---|---|---|
| Chopped pears | 3.8 litres | 1.9 litres |
| Raisins | 240ml | 120ml |
| Chopped onions | 240ml | 120ml |
| Brown sugar | 475ml to 710ml | 240ml to 355ml |
| Vinegar (5%) | 1.2 litres | 600ml |
| Mustard seed | 60ml | 30ml |
| Ginger | 30ml (2 tbsp) | 15ml (1 tbsp) |
| Salt | 10ml (2 tsp) | 5ml (1 tsp) |
| Garlic (optional) | 1 clove | ½ clove |
| Hot red chilli | 1 | ½ |
| Makes | about 3.3 litres | about 1.65 litres |
Swapping other fruit or veg for part of the pear changes the balance of acid in the jar, not just the flavour; mixing fruit and veg in preserves explains why. For a chutney made the same way from the apple crop, see apple chutney.
Keeping the vinegar and sugar right
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 or water it down, and don't change the balance of vinegar, sugar, fruit and vegetables. That includes adding extra onion, garlic or chilli.
Use cider or white distilled vinegar labelled 5% acidity; a vinegar with no stated acidity isn't suitable. Cider vinegar tastes mellower but can darken pale fruit, while white distilled vinegar is sharper and keeps pale fruit lighter.
The sugar is the one amount with some give: use 475ml for a sharper chutney or up to 710ml for a sweeter one, but never less than 475ml.
Jars, lids and the water bath
Because the filled jars are boiled for 10 minutes, 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 10-minute time is for jars of up to about 475ml, so a 500ml jar is just too big.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Still thin at 40 minutes | Keep cooking slowly until it's thick; the time is a guide. |
| Catching on the base | Turn the heat down and stir more often. 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, dry, dark cupboard | At least a few weeks, ideally around two months, before opening |
| Unopened | Cool, dry, dark cupboard | Around a year |
| Opened | Fridge | Use within a few weeks to a month or two |
Pear chutney goes with meats, poultry and sandwiches. More on shelf life and spotting spoilage is in how long preserves keep.
Common questions
Can I use soft, ripe pears?
Firm, slightly underripe pears are better, because they keep their texture through the cooking. Whatever pears you use, keep every other quantity the same.
Can I cut the sugar or the vinegar?
Not the vinegar. The sugar can go anywhere between 475ml and 710ml, but not below that. For a smaller batch, scale every ingredient together.
Do I have to do the water bath?
Yes, if the jars are going in the cupboard. Jars that are only filled hot and sealed have no tested keeping time, so keep those in the fridge and eat them soon.
How do I make it milder?
Take the seeds out of the chilli before chopping it, and wear rubber gloves while you do.
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 13 sources
- Recipe proportions based on: Oregon State University Extension, Fruit Pickles and Chutney, SP 50-757 (Nellie Oehler, 2017): Peach or Pear Chutney: all ingredient quantities, sugar range and yield (about 7 pints); combine all, cook slowly until thick about 40 minutes, stir frequently; hot into hot jars, ½ inch headspace; process 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath; canner off heat, lid off, wait 5 minutes; remove chilli seeds for a milder chutney, wear rubber gloves. General sections: select slightly underripe fruit (keeps shape and texture); cider or white distilled vinegar of 5% acidity, cider may darken light fruit, white distilled recommended for light fruit, don't dilute; store in a cool, dry, dark place; chutney served with meats, poultry and sandwiches. Same page (mango chutney procedure): wash and rinse pint jars and keep hot; remove air bubbles; wipe rims; cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours and check seals
- How to grow pears (RHS): harvest from late summer into autumn; picked just before fully ripe, firm and swollen with a subtle colour change; ripening completed indoors; Conference grows relatively well in cooler conditions
- Harvesting and using fallen apples and other produce (University of Minnesota Extension, Annalisa Hultberg): dropped produce is cracked and bruised; moulds in injured apples or other fruits produce patulin, which is heat-stable
- 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 full boil; restart timing if the boil stops; lift jars without tilting onto a 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
- General Information on Pickling (National Center for Home Food Preservation): 5% acidity vinegar; 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
- Frequently Asked Preservation Question: Pinholes in Lids (Penn State Extension): acids corrode metal lids; metal tools scratch the inner coating
- 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; cool, dry storage
- Checklist for Chutneys (Kilner): maturing at least 8 weeks; cool, dry, 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 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)