Lemon Chutney - 2009 (redux)!

LEMON CHUTNEY:  You won't believe this but... the last two batches of lemon chutney spontaneously combusted.  *poof* gone.  Just like that.  Tasted really good, though.  So, I am making two more batches of lemon chutney.


Directions for 32-36 large lemons:

1. Lemons, pt 1: 
• Microplane or zest lemons (finely mince zest if necessary)
  
• Supreme and section, reserving the seeds and discarding all pith and membrane.
2. Combine zest with lemon pulp into glass or earthenware container (my grandmother's Hull beanpot works great for this, you might use a tagine or Pyrex covered dish) with 8 T of sea salt. Let sit overnight or several hours The lemon pulp will release plenty of juice!
   
4. The next day, strain the salty lemon pulp and zest, reserving the liquid. Divide evenly by weight using a kitchen scale (this was 4#  of pulp and zest in my case, with 2 c of juice), and put into two separate pots. 
5. Divide reserved juice evenly by volume into the two pots.  Squeeze enough lemons to bring you up to 2 cups of lemon juice, if necessary (don't forget to zest the lemons, first and chuck that in as well.
   
   
   
   

   Sweet(er) 2 lb lemon zest & pulp 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger 2 oz minced garlic   1 c raisins 8 oz chopped sweet red pepper .5 large white or yellow onion, chopped 1/2 - 3/4 c chopped dried apricots 2 c unrefined sugar (without molasses) 2 c sucanat or brown sugar Grind in spice grinder & add to pot 1 tsp each: hulled green cardamom, coriander, whole clove, whole allspice, fenugreek seed, yellow mustard seed

   Lemon & Sweet Red Pepper 2 lb lemon zest & pulp 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger 2.5 oz minced garlic 1 c raisins 16 oz chopped sweet red pepper 1.5 large white or yellow onion, chopped 1 lb sucanat (about 3 c) 2 t cayenne pepper flakes Grind in spice grinder & add to pot 1 tsp each: hulled green cardamom, white pepper, coriander, fenugreek, black mustard

   
   
   
   
6. Put seeds into cheesecloth if there were a significant amount - otherwise, don't worry - it's a chutney and you don't need a ton of pectin to set it like a jam or jelly.
7. Cook everything for 60 minutes or so until it reaches the right consistency.
8. Remove cheesecloth with lemon seeds. Let sit overnight. Taste, adjust seasonings or ingredients (additional lemon juice, more ginger or chili, for example).
   
9. Heat up, taste again, when satisfied, put into clean, hot mason jars and hot water bath can.
   
   

Yield: TBD

SWEET & FRUITY LEMON CHUTNEY
8 - 4 oz jars sweet lemon chutney
3 - 8 oz jars sweet lemon chutney

LEMON & SWEET RED PEPPER CHUTNEY
9 - 4 oz jars lemon & sweet red pepper chutney
4 - 8 oz jars lemon & sweet red pepper chutney

Lemon Chutney - 2009!

LEMON CHUTNEY: Despite using a microplane, I was still up til 2:30 zesting and supreming lemons.  Refinements on last recipes, below.


Directions for 32-36 large lemons:

1. Lemons, pt 1: 
• Microplane or zest lemons (finely mince zest if necessary)
  
• Supreme and section, reserving the seeds and discarding all pith and membrane.
2. Combine zest with lemon pulp into glass or earthenware container (my grandmother's Hull beanpot works great for this, you might use a tagine or Pyrex covered dish) with 8 T of sea salt. Let sit overnight. The lemon pulp will release plenty of juice!
   
3. Lemons, pt 2: Zest, halve and juice enough lemons to get 2 cups of lemon juice
   
4. The next day, strain the salty lemon pulp and zest, reserving the liquid. Divide evenly by weight using a kitchen scale (this was 3# 13 oz of pulp and zest in my case, with 2 c of juice), and put into two separate pots. Divide reserved juice evenly by volume into the two pots, as well as any  reserved extra zest.
5. Mise-en-place for two batches of chutney as follows:
   
   
   
   

   Sweet(er) 1.75 lb lemon zest &  pulp, prepared as above 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger 1 c raisins 1/2 - 3/4 c chopped dried apricots 1/2 c currants 2 c unrefined sugar (without molasses) 1 c organic brown sugar 1 t cayenne pepper flakes 1 Tb salt Grind in spice grinder & add to pot 1 tsp each: hulled green cardamom, coriander, whole clove, whole allspice, fenugreek seed, yellow mustard seed

   Lemon & Sweet Red Pepper 1.75 lb lemon zest &  pulp, prepared as above 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger 2 oz minced garlic 1 c raisins 4 oz chopped sweet red pepper 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped (about 8 oz) 1 lb succanat (about 3 c) 2 t cayenne pepper flakes 1 Tb salt Grind in spice grinder & add to pot 1 tsp each: hulled green cardamom, white pepper, coriander, fenugreek, black mustard

   
   
   
   
6. Put seeds into cheesecloth if there were a significant amount - otherwise, don't worry - it's a chutney and you don't need a ton of pectin to set it like a jam or jelly.
7. Cook everything for 60 minutes or so until it reaches the right consistency.
8. Remove cheesecloth with lemon seeds. Let sit overnight. Taste, adjust seasonings or ingredients (additional lemon juice, more ginger or chili, for example).
   
9. Heat up, taste again, when satisfied, put into clean, hot mason jars and hot water bath can.
   
   

Yield: TBD

SWEET & FRUITY CHUTNEY


LEMON & SWEET RED PEPPER CHUTNEY

Sweet Red Pepper & Persimmon Chutney

Chutney is one of my favorite things - on bread, on potatoes, on a nice vegan wheat gluten "field roast" - and it's a great way to use up a lot of persimmon!  Using the same winning spice combination as the Fig-Early Girl Tomato chutney recipe from 2 months ago, I whipped up a big pot (but not too big - lest I get myself into trouble as I did with the gigantic proportions of last year's persimmon chutney recipes!).  This time - I built the recipe to the pot, minding the proportions of my favorite chutneys, and happened to have on hand a pile of sweet red peppers from Mariquita's Mystery Box - so the combination fell into place.

Sweet Red Pepper & Persimmon Chutney

• 6.5# persimmon pulp - scooped from skins & coarsely chopped (you don't want it to be fibrous/stringy after it cooks)
• 3# finely chopped white or yellow onions
• 2# - 2.5# finely chopped sweet red peppers (stems, membrane & seeds removed)
  
• 2.5 oz garlic, fine chop
• 2.5 oz ginger - chop, put into blender with 1/2 c vinegar and add water as needed - blend til smooth and then press through metal strainer with a rubber spatula - reblend with a bit more water if you think you can get more pulp out (goal: no ginger "hairs" in chutney this year!)
• 2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 2 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 Tb chili flakes
• 2 Tb salt
• 1 tsp each: white pepper, coriander, fenugreek, black mustard - ground in spice grinder & added to pot

Simmer til onions & peppers are soft.  Pack in jars & process in hot water.  Eat what doesn't fit into jars with a spoon or on warm bread.  Yum.

YIELD:

• 4 - 12 oz jars sweet red pepper & persimmon chutney
  
• 16 - 8 oz jars sweet red pepper & persimmon chutney
• 9 - 4 oz jars sweet red pepper & persimmon chutney

Apricot & Red Pepper Chutney

APRICOT CHUTNEY for 2009 follows a modified recipe based on last year's recipe. I liked the spice combination from the fig-tomato chutney, so left out the tumeric and star anise this time.

Fruits & alliums

• 12 cups (7.5#) fresh apricots, pitted and chopped (no more than 1/2 inch thick)
• 4 large (3#) white onions, finely chopped
  
• 5 (1.25#) red bell peppers, chopped
  
• 2.5 oz finely minced fresh garlic
  
• 16 ounces mixed mixed raisins and currants

Spices

• 2.5-3 oz ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2-4 big sticks of Ceylon cinnamon
• 3 Tb salt
• 1 Tb chili flakes
• 2 dried dried Ancho chilies, toasted lightly in the oven so that they can be crumbled, include seeds for extra zing but omit any stems

Toasted and ground together:

• 1 tsp allspice berries
  
• 1 Tb brown mustard seed
• 1 Tb white peppercorns
• 2 Tb fenugreek seed
  
• 1 Tb coriander seed
  

Sour & sweet

• 2.5 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 cup malt vinegar
  
• 1.5 pounds Sucanat
• 4 lemons, both zest and juice

Method

1. Lightly toast the spices until they start to get fragrant. Remove from pan quickly and put into a cool dish to cool a bit, then grind coarsely with mortar and pestle.
   
2. Put apricots, garlic, onions and spices into a large stock pot with a heavy bottom. Turn the heat onto medium high. Pour in enough vinegar to prevent mixture from stick to bottom of pot. Bring to simmer then lower the heat to medium.
3. Add more vinegar as the mixture simmers to prevent it fairly mobile - you don't want it to erupt like molten apricot lava out of the pot. You should have used more than half of the vinegar by now. Continue to stir to avoid sticking, lower the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
4. After about 1 hour, stir in the raisins, lemon zest and lemon juice.
5. Stir in the brown sugar as soon as the apricots look like they are nearly falling apart. Add the sugar gradually, stirring and letting it dissolve. Alternate with remaining vinegar or additional lemon juice if needed.
6. Simmer and stir occasionally another 45 minutes or until the chutney has a thick jammy consistency.
   
7. Turn off of the heat, and set aside overnight on the stovetop or cool and put in fridge if you plan a longer delay.
8. To finish, stir and taste your chutney!
   
9. Bring the chutney to a simmer over medium high heat, then lower the temperature to medium low or low to maintain a gentle simmer.
   
10. Add any additional spices, vinegar or sugar to desired taste and viscosity. Cook for 1 hour.
11. Ladle the hot chutney into the jars and process (10 minutes in hot water bath).
12. Store in a cool location at least 2 to 3 months before serving.
    

YIELD:
2 - 12 oz jars apricot chutney
16 - 8 oz jars apricot chutney
14 - 4 oz jars apricot chutney

Green Zebra Tomato Jam

I got this idea from a recipe for Tomato Jam on paninis from a Portland newspaper - and sort of ran with it. You may not have Green Zebras on hand - but the fresh, ripe mellow flavor of green heirloom tomatoes is really good in this recipe.

• 2# of peeled, seeded & coarsely chopped tomatoes (drained - reserve the juice for bloody marys, for the love of mike!)
  
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
• 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 4 Tb sherry vinegar

Simmer til slightly thick - you still want to have some nice chunks of tomato - add a bit more sugar if it's not thickening up enough. It shouldn't be jammy sticky and thick - this is for savory sandwiches. Turns out this works really great on fried green tomato poboys.

YIELD:

8 - 4 oz jars

Fig Persimmon Chutney

In the spirit of experimentation and - I still have a lot of frozen persimmon, I decided to try this sort of recipe - I already have some modifications for next time but here's what I did first:

• 4# figs - quartered/coarsely chopped
• 6 c persimmon puree
  
• 3# onions - fine mince
• 4 serrano chiles, seeded & minced
• 1 1/4 oz fincely minced/grated fresh ginger
• 1 can pineapple rings, coarsely chopped & juice
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 3 star anise, 1/2 tsp fenugreek seed, 5 allspice berries, 1/2 tsp dehulled cardomom - ground
• 1 Tb salt
• 4 oz dried dates, chopped
• 1 c raisins
• 2 c apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 c dried flake coconut
• 1.5 c sucanat

This actually turned out quite nice, but it's more of a blend of flavors and the figs are rather lost. It doesn't have the same glamorous spice combo as the Fig-Tomato chutney. I think for the next time, I will reduce the amount of persimmon to 3-4 cups, leave out the coconut, star anise and pineapple rings, and adjust the spices.

YIELD:
8 - 8 oz jars
12 - 4 oz jars

Fig & Tomato Chutney

I found a recipe that looked interesting - a way to kill two birds with one stone, I thought - figs AND tomatoes! So, as usual - I've altered it quite a bit and the result smells amazing.

• 4# figs - quartered then roughly chopped*
• 3# onions - peeled and chopped all to hell in the Cuisinart DC10
• 4# Early Girl tomatoes, seeded, peeled & quartered
• 1 c. Thompson seedless raisins
• 1 c. sherry vinegar
• 1 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 c. sucanat
• 1 tb chili flakes
• 2 tb salt
• 1/2 tsp each whole white pepper, coriander seed, fenugreek seed & black mustard seed ground together

*I only quartered them and am going to have to fish out big pieces and smoosh them smaller!

Be sure to put the seeds and skins into a chinois or fine mesh strainer to allow you to capture the juice - the juice can be frozen in ice cube trays for later soups or drink it fresh (or make a bloody mary!)

Yum.

YIELD:

8 half pints
15 4 oz jars

Tomatoes, Figs & Peppers, oh my!

Perhaps I overcompensated but... the tomatoes were so friendly at Mariquita's U-Pick day, and their skins so warm and compelling to my touch... I ended up bringing home 67# of San Marzanos, and 60# of mixed heirlooms, Early Girl, Beefsteak and Green Zebra tomatoes. Along with 2# of pimientos de padron (including a big bag that Julia warned were "too hot" to sell because most of her customers fail to appreciate the charm of super spicy pimientos de padron), several pounds of red and yellow bell peppers, 20 (more) bunches of basil (because I just can't get enough pesto!),

I still have to put up the figs and am looking over fig chutney recipes to occupy my afternoon while the tomatoes cook down... some ideas are fig & tomato chutney, fig chutney with Meyer lemon zest & (canned) pineapple, fig & red pepper chutney, and fig & persimmon chutney. I'm also going to try my hand at tomato jelly this week, as well as defrosting the apricots to make up some apricot chutney.

RESULTS: Panopoly of Persimmon Chutney

The results: I confess. I got myself into trouble with the first two recipes. I don't know what I was thinking though I did run it by my friend Eric to eyeball it and didn't hear back from him before I started.

Next time, I think I will just press the persimmons in the ricer - that way I don't have to worry about scraping the skins and will get more juice and reduce the amount of chunks in the chutney.

Chutney #1 turned out nice and sweet with a good bite. Next time - I would halve the apricots, apples and raisins. I upped the amount of persimmons because they were lost in the mix.

Chutney #2 is lemony with a kick, the red pepper chunks held up but it was still way more.

Chutney #3 is citrusy-gingery-tart, might need a bit more cooking time - I will heat it up before canning it tonight and add the pomegranate seeds last.

Revised recipes below, I will make reduced quantity versions to post later:


Persimmon Chutney #1 - chunky, fruity, tart

25 ripe Hachiya persimmons, pulp only
6 c apple cider vinegar
6 c brown sugar

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

8 c water
1.5 pounds dried apricot, chopped
3 3/4 c chopped onion
3 T finely minced garlic
4 chopped apples
1 c 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 as needed. Really long time because it's like 2 gallons of chutney you big dummy. Next time - less apricot, apples and stuff.


Persimmon Chutney #2 - salty/spicy

20 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
1 T chopped garlic
1 c raisins

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 persimmons, pulp only
2 c brown sugar
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
3/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 c pomegranate seeds

8 limes, juiced
3 c water
1 c dried cranberries
3 c red onion or scallion, chopped
6 small green pears, chopped
3 lg jalapenos, chopped
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.

This one had very few changes and actually fit in one of my pots. When I reheat to can it tonight, I'll add the pomegranate seeds.

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!

Peach Chutney Two Ways

Reviewing recipes for peach chutney, I didn't find anything that really excited me. I wanted to do two versions -- one dark and smoky, one lighter with a bit of spice but more sweet. Here's what I have, so far, and this may change as I amend what's on the stove.

Peach Chutney - Base Ingredients: 5# Peaches, pitted & halved* 2.5 c (10 oz) chopped red bell pepper 3 c (10 oz) chopped white onion 2.5 oz chopped garlic 4 oz chopped fresh ginger (mince very fine or pulse in food processor)** 1/2 stick Ceylon cinnamon 2.25 c apple cider vinegar Combine ingredients in pot and turn on med-low. Pick a variation or make your own. *You might want to crush the peaches or coarsely chop them. If they are really ripe, you can just mash them with your hands. I didn't peel the peaches, and for the underripe peaches, this resulted in some skins floating up and looking unattractive. With ripe peaches, skins/fuzz cook down nicely. **The minced ginger still looks pretty chunky in my dark chutney; I might recommend pulverizing the heck out of it in a food processor or blender, or using preserved chopped ginger in a jar if you want it to really blend into the chutney.
Variation 1: Smoky Peach Chutney		Variation 2: Light Peach Chutney
4 oz chopped dried figs 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp brown mustard seed 1/4 - 1/2 oz dried chipotle peppers* 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds 1.5 c Sucanat or Rapadura sugar 1.5 c dark brown sugar Added 1# chopped peaches. *Recommend putting the chipotle peppers in whole so that they are easier to extract. The chutney is pretty smokin' right now, and I am taking out pepper pieces so that it doesn't get too hot for anyone other than me and my crazy friends to eat.		4 oz chopped dates 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp fenugreek 1 T red pepper flakes 2 tsp cardamom seeds 2 c unrefined cane sugar 1 c dark brown sugar 1/2 c rapadura

The onions and everything cooked down a lot nicer in the light chutney. The dark chutney is very chunky. I think I am going to be up for a while to let it simmer down more, rest it on the stove overnight and simmer more tomorrow.

Update: the chutneys both look really good and taste good. They will have to wait until this afternoon to get put into jars.

Update (2): the ginger softened quite a lot during the day, so I imagine after ripening in the jars, everything will be pretty soft. I adjusted the sugar (already reflected above).

YIELD:

Variation 1: Smoky Peach Chutney
1 - 12 oz
10 - 8 oz
6 - 4 oz

Variation 2: Light Peach Chutney
9 - 8 0z
6 - 4 oz


I'm out of small jars! I have a few 12 oz, and all the rest are pint and quart size. Tomorrow I'll do up the remaining peaches as Peach Jelly and it will all be in big jars. Family size.

Lemon Chutney -- Kitchen Tools, Sugar & Recipe Modifications

ZESTING LEMONS: First, I cannot stress how important it is to use a microplane or some ergonomically-friendly item to zest 3 dozen lemons. I was up until 2AM zesting, supreming and sectioning lemons. This morning, I remembered I had bought a microplane - it was hanging on my baker's rack, laughing at me.

SUGAR: After reviewing the recipe, and retasting the last bit of chutney from the last batch, I considered my fruit and sugar options for this round. So many chutney recipes call for brown sugar -- this is basically white sugar mixed in with the molasses that was taken out of it to make it dry and white. I usually use unrefined cane sugar in my house, as well as dehydrated sugar cane in these forms:

• unrefined cane sugar: looks like white sugar but it's more tan in color. This is not whitened through bone char and considerably less processed than white sugar.
• demerara sugar: sugar cane juice that is centrifuged to make nice big crystals. It has more molasses than unrefined cane sugar.
  
• rapadura & sucanat: both dehydrated, powdered forms of unrefined sugar cane juice, containing all the molasses and sugar. I'm not entirely clear on how different these two are from each other and am still experimenting.
• blackstrap molasses: this is the gooey black/brown stuff that is left when the sugar cane solids are separated from it.
• organic brown sugar: unrefined cane sugar with some of the molasses mixed back into it.
  

RECIPE MODIFICATION: I decided to make two batches. One batch would be "sweeter" -- and I used organic/vegan brown sugar. The other would be more "savory" with onions, more garlic, chili flakes and demerara sugar and a small amount of blackstrap molasses.

As I mentioned, I originally mostly followed a chutney recipe from Laura Colwin's cookbook. This time, I made a lot of changes. First of all -- I was working with a lot more lemons. I quadrupled the recipe and then halved it. After prepping 32 lemons, I realized I didn't have enough lemons left over to make 2 cups of additional lemon juice, so I went up to my friend Regan's house and picked another sack of lemons. This was a bit more work -- I zested the lemons before juicing them, grabbed any loose bits of pulp from the lemons and the juicer, and also saved the seeds to add to the chutney in cheesecloth later.

Supremed and Sectioned Lemons

Lemon Pulp in the Pot

1. Lemons, pt 1: Zest, supreme and section 32 lemons, reserving the seeds and discarding all pith and membrane.
2. Finely mince zest, and add with lemon pulp into glass or earthenware container (my grandmother's Hull beanpot works great for this, you might use a tagine or Pyrex covered dish) with 8 T of sea salt. Let sit overnight. The lemon pulp will release plenty of juice!
   
3. Lemons, pt 2: Zest, halve and juice enough lemons to get 2 cups of lemon juice (in my case, this was 15 of Regan's lemons -- many didn't have seeds, so I think they were a bit underripe but still tasted plenty lemony). Reserve the seeds with the other seeds and divide the zest into two equal portions.
   
4. The next day, strain the salty lemon pulp and zest, reserving the liquid. Divide evenly by weight using a kitchen scale (this was 3# of pulp and zest in my case, with 2.5 c of juice), and put into two separate pots. Divide reserved juice evenly by volume into the two pots, as well as the reserved extra zest.
5. Mise-en-place for two batches of chutney as follows:
   
   
   
   
   

   Sweet(er) 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger minced garlic 8 cloves (1.25 oz) 1 c currants 1/2 c finely chopped dates 1/2 c finelychopped dried figs 1.5 lb organic brown sugar 1/2 Ceylon cinnamon stick (leave whole in chutney) 1 t cayenne powder Toast Spices, then grind: 2 t black cardamom seeds (from green cardamom pods) 2 t coriander seed 1.5 t dried red pepper flakes 1 t whole clove 1 t whole allspice 1 t fenugreek seed

   Savory 1 c fresh lemon juice 1 c cider vinegar 3 T finely minced fresh ginger minced garlic 12 cloves (2.5 oz) 1 c raisins 1/2 c finely chopped dried apricot 1 large yellow onion, chopped 1.5 lb demerara sugar 1/4 c blackstrap molasses 2 bay leaves (leave whole in chutney) 1 t cayenne powder Toast Spices, then grind: 2 t black cardamom seeds (from green cardamom pods) 2 t coriander seed 2 t dried red pepper flakes 1/2 t black pepper 1/2 t brown mustard seed

6. The spices are pretty labor intensive -- if you haven't bought hulled cardamom, put the green cardamom pods into your mortar/pestle and bust them open until you have enough. Toast the spices -- except the cayenne (believe me - you don't want to breathe that in!). Once they toast and the coriander starts popping, put them in your mortar & pestle and grind as finely as you can, or put into a spice mill/coffee grinder.
   
7. Cook everything for 60 minutes or so until it reaches the right consistency.
8. Remove cheesecloth with lemon seeds. Let sit overnight. Taste, make any corrections (additional lemon juice, more ginger or chili, for example).
   
9. Heat up, taste again, when satisfied, put into clean, hot mason jars and hot water bath can.
   
   

Yield:

SWEET(ER) LEMON CHUTNEY
6 - 4 oz
2 - 8 oz

SAVORY LEMON CHUTNEY
7 - 4 oz
2 - 8 oz


I have to admit -- the sweet(er) version surprised me. The chopped figs really thickened up the chutney and it is very fruity and yet very lemony. The savory version definitely has a kick to it. The sweeter version is much darker in color (the figs and dates, to be sure). Both are pretty darned tasty.

PEACHES: I managed to cook down the peaches and have a full half gallon jug and a 2/3 half gallon jug of the juice, and a big pot of fruit. I'm letting it cool so I can make jam and jelly tomorrow while canning the chutney. Apricots are still in the refrigerator.

My brother visited and brought Indian food this evening. I'm hopeful that he'll come over and help me tomorrow night by assembling the pieces for the solar dehydrator. He knows how to straighten slightly warped 1" x 2" pieces! He was taking pictures of my stacks of jars of jelly and inside my refrigerator for "proof" that I'm turning into Grandma Clark.

APRICOT CHUTNEY

CHUTNEY is a great way to make up savory fruit meal complements - I think this will go well with a moroccan tagine. I mostly followed a recipe from Iwaruna.com, with some modifications.

Fruits & alliums

• 4 pounds fresh apricots, pitted and chopped (no more than 1/2 inch thick)
• 2 large yellow onions, diced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces mixed raisins, cranberries and dried blackberries since that was all I had in the refrigerator!

Spices

• 3 inches ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2 big sticks of Ceylon cinnamon
  
• 2 tablespoons brown mustard seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 dried dried Ancho chilies, crumbled, including seeds but omitting any stems
• 3 star anise
• 1 tsp fenugreek
  

Sour & sweet

• 1 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup fig balsamic vinegar
  
• 12 ounces Sucanat
• 3 lemons, both zest and juice

Method

1. Lightly toast the spices until they start to get fragrant. Remove from pan quickly and put into a cool dish to cool a bit, then grind coarsely with mortar and pestle.
   
2. Put apricots, garlic, onions and spices into a large stock pot with a heavy bottom. Turn the heat onto medium high. Pour in enough vinegar to prevent mixture from stick to bottom of pot. Bring to simmer then lower the heat to medium.
3. Add more vinegar as the mixture simmers to prevent it fairly mobile - you don't want it to erupt like molten apricot lava out of the pot. You should have used more than half of the vinegar by now. Continue to stir to avoid sticking, lower the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
4. After about 1 hour, stir in the raisins, lemon zest and lemon juice.
5. Stir in the brown sugar as soon as the apricots look like they are nearly falling apart. Add the sugar gradually, stirring and letting it dissolve. Alternate with remaining vinegar or additional lemon juice if needed.
6. Simmer and stir occasionally another 45 minutes or until the chutney has a thick jammy consistency.
   
7. Turn off of the heat, and set aside overnight on the stovetop or cool and put in fridge if you plan a longer delay.
8. To finish, stir and taste your chutney!
   
9. Bring the chutney to a simmer over medium high heat, then lower the temperature to medium low or low to maintain a gentle simmer.
   
10. Add any additional spices, vinegar or sugar to desired taste and viscosity. Cook for 1 hour.
11. Ladle the hot chutney into the jars and process (10 minutes in hot water bath).
12. Store in a cool location at least 2 to 3 months before serving.
    

YIELD:

6 - 8 oz
11 - 4 oz