Tigress Can Jam #9: Plum Chutney
This is a bit of a cheat, since I actually made this chutney when I went beet, plum & berry picking in July. However, since I haven't actually updated y'all since then, I think it's fair.
Plums. So utterly, utterly delicious. These were a combo of Shiro (yellow), methley and... um... roma plums? Absolutely delicious to eat, delicious in a no sugar jam I made (which is more of a syrup and never really set out of the fridge). With what was left, I decided to make a spicy plum chutney based off of this Chowhound recipe, and boy I'm glad I did.
Recipe, with some thoughts:
4 cups coarsely chopped plums (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup dried currants
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cinnamon stick
When you add everything to the pot, let it reduce over medium heat for about half an hour or until it's down by about a third. While this cooks, sterilized your jars and simmer your lids. Once the chutney is to a consistency you like, remove your cinnamon stick, fill your jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
The recipe originally called for 8 plums (roughly 1.5 pounds). Clearly, these small, sweet plums are not going to be 1 1/2 pounds and until this morning I didn't own a food scale, so I googled around and decided that 4 cups of halved plums would end up being about the equivalent. So after spending like an hour cutting and pitting these plums, I tossed them in the pot, along with the red onion (6oz or 3/4 cup), brown sugar, cider vinegar, dried currants, garlic cloves and salt. I also followed a suggestion from the comments and added 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 cinnamon stick.
I didn't skin the plums, which is generally a good idea (for pectin), but it does leave some unpleasant skins when you're eating the chutney. If you attempt this recipe, I might chop your plums more thoroughly than I did. Smaller pieces of skin are probably less jarring in the finished product.
I also wouldn't add the red pepper flakes and cinnamon stick in future - it ended up being a little too spicy and the cinnamon adds an odd aftertaste, but overall, it's still quite tasty.
The resulting chutney is tangy, sweet and has a bit of a kick to it. It's great in cheese plates and would pair wonderfully with Indian food or with some cream cheese.
Plums. So utterly, utterly delicious. These were a combo of Shiro (yellow), methley and... um... roma plums? Absolutely delicious to eat, delicious in a no sugar jam I made (which is more of a syrup and never really set out of the fridge). With what was left, I decided to make a spicy plum chutney based off of this Chowhound recipe, and boy I'm glad I did.
Recipe, with some thoughts:
4 cups coarsely chopped plums (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup dried currants
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cinnamon stick
When you add everything to the pot, let it reduce over medium heat for about half an hour or until it's down by about a third. While this cooks, sterilized your jars and simmer your lids. Once the chutney is to a consistency you like, remove your cinnamon stick, fill your jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
The recipe originally called for 8 plums (roughly 1.5 pounds). Clearly, these small, sweet plums are not going to be 1 1/2 pounds and until this morning I didn't own a food scale, so I googled around and decided that 4 cups of halved plums would end up being about the equivalent. So after spending like an hour cutting and pitting these plums, I tossed them in the pot, along with the red onion (6oz or 3/4 cup), brown sugar, cider vinegar, dried currants, garlic cloves and salt. I also followed a suggestion from the comments and added 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 cinnamon stick.
I didn't skin the plums, which is generally a good idea (for pectin), but it does leave some unpleasant skins when you're eating the chutney. If you attempt this recipe, I might chop your plums more thoroughly than I did. Smaller pieces of skin are probably less jarring in the finished product.
I also wouldn't add the red pepper flakes and cinnamon stick in future - it ended up being a little too spicy and the cinnamon adds an odd aftertaste, but overall, it's still quite tasty.
The resulting chutney is tangy, sweet and has a bit of a kick to it. It's great in cheese plates and would pair wonderfully with Indian food or with some cream cheese.