Three-Ginger Pear Chutney

This is the second canning workshop organised by Richmond Food Secure. Originally, Karen wanted to do a peach chutney. But, since the Richmond Food Tree Sharing Project collected a lot of pears that week, Karen made a change of recipe to Pear Chutney instead. Karen is very versatile and she often has to decide on what to cook in the Gilmore Park Community Meal at the very last minute depending on what she gets from the food bank, Richmond Food Tree Sharing Project and other donors.

Chutney is a relish made by combining fruits and spices, originally accompanying Indian (south Asian) meals.  The Hindi word chatni means ‘to taste’.

Some chutneys use fresh ingredients and are served immediately, while others are cooked, then processed to preserve the fruits for later use.  Chutney can be sweet or sour, spicy or not; or combinations of these.  Like any relish, the texture can vary from smooth to chunky, depending on the creator.  Typical ingredients can include combinations of mango, apple, pears, peaches, plums, herbs, citrus fruits, tomato, raisins, coconut, vinegar(s), honey, sugar, garlic, ginger, cinnamon and chilies.  But generally, a chutney makes use of the ingredients which are typically at hand.

For today’s recipe, we got to sample it.  Karen brought a jar of her Peach Chutney made last year for us to sample.  Chutney can be served beside cheeses and cold meats, or with hot meals.  Ginger/pear combinations are particularly delicious with pork or chicken.

The chutney pairs well with the tangy and creamy goat cheese.  This is a great appetizer for entertaining.

Ingredients

6 cups peeled, cored and diced/sliced fresh pears (about 6-9 medium, or 1.1 kg), preferably half ripe and half not so ripe
1 cup tart apple, peeled, cored and diced (about 1 large)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup seedless raisins (50-60gm)
1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup golden brown sugar (160-175gm)
1 to 2 whole garlic cloves
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, peeled (or 1 teaspoon ground dried ginger)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

This recipe makes 3 to 4, 250 ml jars.

More after the jump. Click to read the rest of Three-Ginger Pear Chutney (486 words)

© suanne for Chow Times, 2009. |
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Post tags: Canning, Chutney, Community Kitchen, Ginger, Pear, Recipe

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