Peach Chutney (Preserves)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	Preserves
Date:	05/01/06 (1853 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the sweet without the sour

Disadvantages: needs a lot of attention when making it.

I thought I would share one of my favourite chutney recipes with you. The reason I like it is because it is sweeter than some and has a lovely blend of spices. It is versatile and can be used as a great dip with many finger foods such as chicken dippers, poppadoms and is even good with plain pringles. Although this is a bit out of season it is equally good to have as a dip with your barbecue selection of food. Roll on the summer now that Christmas has passed.

Ingredients

16 peaches, skinned and sliced
175g/6oz raisins
225g/8oz brown sugar
175ml/6 fl oz cider vinegar
5ml/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2.5ml/half teaspoon cloves
10ml/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
50g/2oz chopped nuts (can easily be omitted for those with allergies)

Method

Put all the ingredients apart from the nuts into a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for around 45 minutes until the mixture has started to thicken and then stir in the nuts. Leave simmering for a couple more minutes and the pour into jars and seal.

If you keep these jars in the refrigerator they will keep up to 3 weeks easily.

This makes around 2kg/4lb chutney.

We find the cloves and cinnamon give this preserve a lovely warmth to it without the heat that chillis can sometimes create. Another bonus to it in our household is that there are no onions in it as in most traditional chutneys which is great as a few of us detest onions.

This is very easy to make and the only preparation I hate is the peeling of the peaches which can be a bit messy but it's so good that I don't really mind.

The only real downside to making your own chutney is that you have to stir regularly and keep an eye on it or it will go too thick and stick to the bottom of your pan so be sure there are no distractions around whilst making this.

I hope I have tempted a few of you out there to try this at home. Don't worry about the flavour if you leave out the nuts - we think it is just as good without.

Summary: Easy to make - goes well with lots of foods