New Pineapple Chutney Recipe in time for Christmas

When I raided the preserve cupboard for a few jars of chutney and jam for Janice, I realised that I was getting a little low, and wanted to make a light but brightly coloured chutney, which I hope will be ready in time for Christmas.

It will just be about mature enough to have along with cold meats, salads, stirred into stir fries.  Its over two years since I made a Pineapple Chutney, and as ever I reviewed my recipes and decided to devise something different.  I have really enjoyed Nigella seeds in a lime chutney I bought, and thought this would marry well with Pineapple.  This Chutney doesn't have any apple at all, but two lovely fresh pineapples, and some interesting spices.  I've tasted it 'unmatured' and it will really be just right.  I can see me folding a spoonful or two into some mayonnaise for something akin to spicy dressing to add to cold salmon, chicken or turkey.

You need to prepare the pineapples by removing all the skin and eyes

I like to cut the central woody core out as it rarely softens sufficiently

Recipe

3 tablespoons cold pressed rapeseed oil or whatever oil you wish to use
3 - 4 medium white onions, peeled and chopped small
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1tbsp nigella seeds
1tbsp turmeric powder
Fresh ginger about the size of your thumb, peeled, and very finely sliced
1 tsp salt
1 red chilli, deseeded, and finely chopped
2 pineapples peeled, and prepared, and cut into the size of pieces you want in the chutney
250g white sugar
200ml organic cider vinegar
2 desertspoons cornflour

Add the oil and onions to a large jamming pan or other pan, and cook over a medium heat, stirring for about 5 minutes, without browning.  I find adding the salt after a minute or so helps to draw out some of the moisture.

Add the mustard seeds, and turmeric powder, and chopped ginger and continue stirring, for another 4 minutes or so, then add the chopped pineapple and chilli.

Stir until the whole lot is hot, and the juices are running from the pineapple, add 175g of the vinegar, and cook for a further twenty minutes over a medium heat so that it bubbles gently during which time the pineapple softens more easily without the sugar.

Add the sugar, and continue cooking until the juices are  reduced.  It needs to be a little runnier than the chutney will be when it is ready to eat.  Stirring regularly with a wooden spoon is a must to ensure nothing is 'catching' at the bottom of the pan.

Mix the cornflour with the remaining vinegar, and add it to the pan, stir it in, and continue stirring until the whole is thickened and bubbling again.  I like to do this to achieve a piccalli consistency sauce.  If you have thickened it a little too much, add a little more vinegar, and cook for a few more minutes stirring.

Pot into clean and sterilised jar...I wash mine and have them in the oven for 10 minutes before filling.
Tap the chutney down into the jars to just below the top, to remove any little gaps or air pockets.

Pineapple Chutney

 

Starting with the apples, then the pineapples, all chopped fine to the size I want in the final chutney,

 



Then after what seems like hours of stirring, together with a wonderful blend of vinegar, sugar and spices,  the chutney is ready to pot....only two are different...without chillies specially for Janice.

I used some of this chutney to marinate some meat and it worked a dream.  The meat was very tender and the sauce had that extra something, a richness and a depth of flavour that I had not tasted before I used this in the marinade.  This is my favourite chutney in sandwiches.



Pineapple Chutney ready for Christmas

What a whopper, and in perfect condition.  I bought this a week previously and have been keeping a keen eye out waiting for the perfect moment of ripeness, when the sugars will have reached perfection and the smell is sweet and warm, and before any blemishes start to appear. 

Then out with the knives and sharpeners, et voila, nearly as good as the street hawkers in Mauritius with the machetes.  I would have loved to have stood up on a stand at the NEC on Wednesday and demonstrated this great technique.

Chop, chop, weigh, and measure, and into the pan, all the ingredients are ready for the slow simmer.

I say all the ingredients, well I only added the chili at the end, after I had potted up two jars for Janice who asked for no chillies.  I added two blue elastic bands round her jars, I can hear you say, can't you see the lovely red chillies in the jar, and I say that sometimes I put the jars away in the cupboard unlabelled, and there it is easy to pull the right jars quickly from the dark recesses if there is a band round them.

I had to pull out all the jars this Thursday and was still labelling them up when Janice arrived.  She caught me in the act, and commented on my labels printed on paper, being cut up with scissors and stuck on with glue...she thought  I used self adhesive labels.  I found them a fiddle to align them for printing, and I am able to print out different size labels, depending on the jars I have filled.  This time I made a special label called Janice's Pineapple Chutney just for her jar!  The chutney is nicely matured ready for this Christmas, and goes especially well with cold ham, pork pies, and cold chicken and turkey. 

Recipe available on request.