I guess if you've spent time hangin' around here, you'll know that I'm a total Pickle freak. If it stands still long enough, I'll pickle it.

But I also do Soups, Piccalilli's, (mustard pickle) Jams and Chutney's too.

There's a few reasons behind it. For much of my early years I was on a low income, so waste was the last thing I wanted. Then I spent some time in a religious community, where it was kinda mandatory to feed the five thousand. Bit difficult when you have a young family, I can tell you.

I got to hate waste. Kids can be quite wasteful, and it gets worse when they eat-and-run as they get older. You can only get away with so many stews and curry's......

I hope I'm not the only one who finds fruit and veg kinda 'on the way out' in the fridge :)

Tomorrow is shopping day, where My Bear goes on a wing and a prayer with Father-in-Law and pocket full of money on a tour of the local supermarkets. So I checked the fridge (the freezer is full of meat stuffs) and found :-

3 Pears, 1 Apple, a large onion, Lemon juice, some sorry looking Garlic. In a cupboard we had half a bag of sultana's. Oldest daughter has inherited a large rhubarb patch, and is getting sick of rhubarb crumble.

Of course, I had vinegar knocking around :) So I came up with this :-


Apple, pear and rhubarb Chutney.

1.Whatever hard fruit you have - Pears and apples in my case.
2. 1lb rhubarb chopped
3. juice of one lemon, or 3 tbs bottled lemon juice.
4. 1 large chopped onion + 1 chopped garlic clove
5. 1lb brown sugar
6. ½ lb chopped sultanas
7. 1 & ½ teaspoons ginger
8. ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
9. 3 teaspoons sea salt
10. ¾ pint vinegar - I had some Sarsons clear.

Chop all the fruit and vegetables, add the vinegar, sugar and spices and bring slowly to the boil.

Simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally, until quite thick. Pour into heated jars and seal, and leave for a couple of months, somewhere cool and dark, before eating.

Note. Open the kitchen window. It stinks, but as time goes on it smells much sweeter.
You would not believe how much the taste differs to the cooking smell
after 2 to 3 months of maturing. Think a fruity 'Branston'. Enjoy.