ISO hot mango chutney recipe

[XeniA]

Clive, thank you very much. You're a wonderful wealth of information! I think I'm now about ready to give this recipe a try, although I suspect first time I'll just make a small enough quantity to tuck in the fridge rather than preserving it (still have cold feet!). Nice to know anyways that you "hot water bath" them rather than pressure preserve them.

By the way, before I give up on this alternative: do you think chutneys would freeze well?

 

[Gretchen]

They wil freeze just fine but they are so easy to "can" . I would never have freezer space for it anyway.

 

[karadekoolaid]

They wil freeze just fine but they are so easy to "can" . I would never have freezer space for it anyway.

Gretchen's quite right.
Why use valuable space in your freezer when you can bottle the stuff and leave it in the sun for 18 months with no ill effects?

Seriously - once it's bottled/canned, with the water bath, I put it in boxes.
The boxes are stored at room temperature ( that'a about 27ºC here) until I sell them.
A month, 3 months, 6 months...

 

[XeniA]

Good morning again ...

Well Clive, I made a half recipe of your chutney, minus the tamarind. Very straightforward, perfect amount of 'heat' and overall delish.

However, it's the consistency I'm not thrilled with. Much more like chunky applesauce than the thick jam-like consistency I'd like (because I was introduced to the world of chutney through Sharwoods, I suppose).

Is this fixable? Am I wrong to desire it?

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Lynan]

Ayrton can you not find Tamarind where you are?? It will surely be an integral part of this recipe for its ' sourness'.
Clive will set you right on his recipe when he is about Im sure but IM0, if you want a more ' jammy' texture, you cook it down more. Just realise that in doing this you risk losing the fresh taste that is important in preserves.

Good on ya for getting to it so quick!!

 

[XeniA]

Morning, Lynan --

Thanks for your input. I'm not sure yet if I can get tamarind. Since I can find a translation of it into Greek (on my brilliant spices website that I keep touting like I'm getting a commission, i.e. http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html), I'd like to think that means it exists. Since our horrible heat wave is still tapering off, I'm gonna wait a couple of days to go down into the bowels of Athens where it'll exist if it exists anywhere. I'm definitely game to try it as everybody's really piqued my interest here!

Gotcha on the cooking down. I was wondering about that. However, wouldn't want to lose the 'individuality' of those fruit pieces (nice big chunks of mango plus I put the ginger in kinda chunky since I LOVE biting down on bits of ginger!). Shall I maybe fish those out and reduce the remains???

It was sheer piggery that I got to it so quickly, so no congratulations in order!

 

[XeniA]

Further to that thought:

In what form(s) does tamarind come? How does one work with it? Does it keep?

Okay, okay, I'll Google, but if anybody feels like adding their two cent's worth, fine by me!

 

[karadekoolaid]

Further to that thought:

In what form(s) does tamarind come? How does one work with it? Does it keep?

Okay, okay, I'll Google, but if anybody feels like adding their two cent's worth, fine by me!

I'm spoiled, Ayrton - I can get fresh tamarind pods at the market - but I usually buy it in a block. It generally has the outer pod removed and is a sticky, grungy, brown mess, wrapped in cellophane. You soak it in water and squidge it through a sieve.
You could actually leave it out if you wish - try it with a little lemon juice!
As for the texture, well I chop the mango into 1 cm dice. The ginger and other "bits" get blended to Kingdom Come, then added to the mango. Start to finish, it takes 45 minutes. However, I should point out I've got Industrial burners in my kitchen, so maybe you'll need a little extra cooking time.

When I started my chutney business, I investigated the differences between chutney, pickle, relish, salsa, sauce, etc. A reliable Indian website said that chutney, in its original form, was far more liquid and had almost no "lumps" of fruit in it, whereas "pickle" has chunks of fruit/vegetable. Whatever - I chose the middle path and called my stuff " delicia" if I was in doubt!!

 

[XeniA]

Hi again -- sorry to have taken so long in replying to your nice post, Clive.

I found tamarind! Easily AND cheap, so one happy camper. REALLY nice flavor too -- I can see why it would be a potentially-important ingredient.

Hadn't remembered details of your post when I tried it, so was a bit dumbfounded as to all those seeds (mine came in a gooey block WITH seeds). Tore off a bit and added a bit of boiling water, then sat and hand-cleaned about 12 seeds. Decided after 12 that this was not the way to go. Did end up squooshing it all through a seive, so see I wasn't far off.

Added a bit to my already-made chutney and liked the difference immediately (could have used more). Also, back to Lynan: I did strain and reduce the liquid and the consistency was much improved. Overall, doing well!

Just about finished eating (oink, oink -- although hubby helping) first batch, then I'll try Gretchen's recipe. THEN I'll try canning them.

Again, THANK YOU to everybody for all this help!