Monday, November 24, 2008

Panopoly of Persimmon Chutney Recipes

You know what they say about a watched pot, right? Well, persimmons are the same way - they are somewhat persnickety and as they slowly ripen 1-2 at a time, I was worried I'd never have enough ripe at one time to make chutney or jam.

Sure enough, a girl goes away for a fun weekend in Portland to visit her pals and returns to find nearly 50 water balloon squishy ripe persimmons (only one got moldy, thank you muchly!).

A review of persimmon chutney recipes and ingredients I want to use revealed this: there aren't a lot of persimmon chutney recipes out there that excite me and none of them are built for large quantities of persimmons calling for 1-4 persimmons at most.

C'mon people - we're talking serious home canning volume here! In the fine tradition of this blog, I spent some time composing some chutney recipes. I will test them tonight and modify the final recipes after adjusting to taste, but here are the three main contestants:

Persimmon Chutney #1 - chunky, fruity, tart

15-18 ripe Hachiya persimmons, pulp only
6 c apple cider vinegar
4 c sugar

1/2 c ginger, minced
1 T chili powder
1/8 - 1/4 c mustard seed,whole
2 T coriander seed, crushed
3 T fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cinnamon stick, whole
1 T whole cloves

5-10 c water
2 pounds dried apricot
3 3/4 c chopped onion
7-10 cloves chopped garlic
4-5 chopped apples
3 3/4 cups golden raisins
3 c raisins

  1. Combine all ingredients except persimmons, vinegar & sugar, bring to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until soft, stirring frequently until nearly all the juice is gone.
  2. Add vinegar and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until reduced.
  3. Add the persimmon and simmer until tender and the chutney has come together into a chunky mixture, breaking up any large pieces of apple or onion as you go.
  4. Simmer about 5 minutes more, as needed.

Persimmon Chutney #2 - salty/spicy

15-18 persimmons, pulp only
2 c apple cider vinegar
3 c sugar

2-3 large preserved Moroccan lemons (don't you have any in your fridge?)
1 red bell pepper, large, chopped
1 white onion, chopped fine
3 T red chili flakes
2 T fenugreek seed
1/4 c finely chopped raw ginger
6 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 c currants

Combine all, bring to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, stirring frequently until reduced. Taste & adjust spices, vinegar & sugar as necessary.


Persimmon Chutney #3 - sweet/spicy/citrus

15-18 persimmons, pulp only
1 c unrefined white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 c rice wine vinegar
1 c pomegranate seeds

8 limes, juiced
1 c dried cranberries
3 c red onion or scallion, chopped
6 small green pears, chopped
5 small red chilis, chopped (or jalapenos?)
1/4 c fresh grated ginger

  1. Combine all ingredients except persimmons, pomegranate seeds vinegar & sugar, bring to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until soft.
  2. Add vinegar and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until reduced.
  3. Add the persimmon and pomegranate seeds. Simmer until thick.

Thoughts? Observations? Recommendations? Let me know before 7pm when I am going to be in the kitchen putting pots to bubble!

8 comments:

Madam Z said...

Good grief, woman! You are ever so much more ambitious in the kitchen than I am. As soon as i saw "15-18 ripe Hachiya persimmons," I was outta there!
(I would, however, be more than happy to sample the results of your efforts.)

My dad used to grow persimmons. We sliced and dried them. They were really good that way and needed no added ingredients.

Thanks for sending me your address. I'm going to enjoy reading your posts. I like your writing style. :)

Jenn said...

Oh - I have a LOT of persimmons. I have like 100# of persimmons in the house right now and just haven't photographed them because it's been dark. I prefer daylight but...

I have been dehydrating a LOT of persimmons. Cool thing is that you can dehydrate unripe Hachiyas and they are sweet, without the astringent tannins that make the fresh/unripe fruit so awful.

I have a big pile of dried persimmons - they are the best! Also will be making a lot more fruit leather as it is very popular.

Chile said...

Second recipe sounds best to me (and reminds me to go start my preserved lemons today!)

Have you seen the site on how to build your own chutney? Doesn't look like you need any help, but it's an interesting site.

Feyala said...

Sorry to barge in here but I found you looking for persimmon chutney recipes. I think number 3 sounds the best for my taste buds, and I too have 100# of persimmons sitting around! My question is this: will the cranberries and lime acidify the persimmons enough for canning? Persimmons are low acid fruit, borderline like tomatoes are as far as I have been able to tell, and I don't want to give my family botulism for the holidays! :(

Thanks in advance!

Jenn said...

Feyala - don't forget you're adding a lot of vinegar and sugar, too - that should take care of acidifying and fixing it. I haven't had any problems.

Like applesauce - apples are low acid, and I do plenty of no-sugar-added applesauce (just cooked apples) and it always turns out fine.

Feyala said...

Alright, thanks, I'll let you know how it turns out! Om nom nom!

Do you have any good vegan recipes for using these chutneys? :D

Feyala said...

Also, I have a question. From this recipe to the latter one you seem to have reduced the amount of vinegar by half. Was your version too vinegary?

I am kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods, should I reduce the number of jalapenos, deseed/devein them, or both? I think they would impart a good flavor and a little bit of kick but I don't like my mouth to feel like it's on fire. XD

Thanks again!

Jenn said...

This chutney is actually not terribly spicy - you can barely tell that there are peppers in it and it doesn't burn at all. It's more sweet.

In some cases, I reduce or add liquid based on how juicy the fruit is.

I think I tend to overcook my chutneys though - persimmons are just going to fall apart anyway - the Chutney #1 is basically the consistency of applesauce.

As for recipes - how about samosas? Nan? Any bread... or on fried tofu cutlets, or mixed in with a tofu scramble.