After rummaging gently through the crate I found 5 bad apples for the compost and a good kilo of apples that werent looking well.
I wasn't prepared to waste a kilo of dodgy fruit as it was more the fact they were wrinkly and pitted and looking worse for wear. The fruit was still intact and not showing signs of rot.
I'm more partial to the savoury so I decided to use them to make chutney, which is a great way of giving them a new lease of life and giving them an extra 6 months on the shelf. Of course you can use fresher fruit but chutney is a great way of preserving and adding that sweet and spicy tang to you winter stews and hotpots.
A good blend of spices is a must for chutney and plenty of salt, some sugar and thats about it. I used jaggery in my recipe which I had in already, which is a traditional indian palm sugar and works well but for cheapness use whatever you lay your hands on. I also left the skins on my apples as it adds texture and keeps in the vitamins.
Heres how:-
1. Wash, quarter and de-core a kilo of apples. Slice into chunks and place in big pan.
2. Cook apples until softened and add a dash of oil and a good handful of spices and a teaspoon of salt. You can buy spice mixes from asian superstores under the name of 'achar' spices but a good mix is a desertspoon of the following:
cumin seeds
turmeric
onion seeds
black pepper
corriander
hot paprika
I would recommend experimenting with your mix until you get one you like that you can call your own.
3. Fry off your spices with the apples and oil and then add a cup of vinegar and two cups of sugar.
4. Continue cooking until the mix gets sticky and jammy, just before it becomes toffee!
5.Add additional salt to taste and allow to cool. Put into sterilised clean jam jars when cool enough to handle.
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