Apple Ginger Chutney
It’s been a busy day of canning here at the Turnbull house. Once again, we’ve been blessed with a glut of end of the season veggies that must get put up before too long. Pumpkins and squash call out to me to be turned into chutney, chips, curds, and soup. Will I have enough hours in the day to get it all done. Only time will tell…
Today’s mission chutney. I started with making one of my friends favorite chutney recipes ~ Apple Ginger Chutney. And, upon trying it, I have to agree it is super tasty and definitely well worth making. I am considering making a second batch as holiday gifts (if I get all of the pumpkins and squash put into jars).
RECIPE FOR APPLE GINGER CHUTNEY:
- 4 cups cider vinegar
- 3 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 tbsp salt (I like kosher salt but regular table salt will do)
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp allspice
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 4 1/2 lbs firm apples (approximately 10 large apples) like Wealthy or Cortland (I used Spartans and Granny Smiths because I had them on hand); core and coarsely chop
- 3 cups onions (approximately one large Spanish onion)
- 3 cups green pepper (approximately 2 large peppers)
- 1 cup dried currants
- 1 lemon juiced and grated peel
- In a large stainless steel saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, salt, and spices. Bring to a boil.
- Add peppers, onion, currants and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Then add all other ingredients and boil gently, for another 30 minutes. Stirring frequently. This is what it looks like when it is first added…
And, after 30 minutes…
- Ladle hot chutney into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot chutney. Wipe rims with a damp paper towel. Place snaps and rings on each jar, screwing bands down until they are fingertip-tight. Place in hot water bath, bring to a full rolling boil, and process for 15 minutes. When the time is up, turn off heat and remove lid. Leave jars for 5 minutes before removing. Check seals, let cool, label and store.
Until recently, I did not really appreciate the complex favours of a good chutney but now I can’t live without them. We often have a jar open in the fridge to add a like kick to meat and even ice-cream. I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s true. If you could only do one chutney this year I would highly recommend giving this one a try. You won’t be disappointed. Thanks Elene!!!
Put up total:
- 7 x 500ml regular vintage mason jars
Scoring Some Old Jars
On my way back from taking my sister to the airport, I stopped in to a reuse store and scored some cool old mason jars. Not only did I find some different older jars but the price was right too! I purchased several 500mL or pint jars for 33 cents each and a bunch of 1L or quart jars for 50 cents each. Yeah!
Matt and I are always on the hunt for neat old jars…something with a different shape, colour, or company name on it. We like all kinds of old things from antique furniture to books but recently we’ve added collecting reuseable jars to our list. The value of the jars isn’t important to us (as we know some people collect mason jars and are willing to pay a lot of money for them); what we look for is usability and affordability. Isn’t it true that we always want something that we can’t have or that is a more challenging to find. Last year, it was all the different plaid and holiday lids…this year, its old jars. What will it be next?
Admittedly, I love the idea of seeing all of these different and interesting jars filled with our own homemade preserves and lined neatly on the shelves. It’s nice to have pretty jars and labels to show off all of your hard work. Shouldn’t the jars look as good as the food tastes? So, for us, the jars have become as diverse as the food we put in them…and like that the choices are endless.
Here a just some of the old jars that I found yesterday…
And, some that were given to us by friends (Ben, Annie, The Kundas, and Mardi)…
And, some different jars we found in China Town on Spidna (downtown Toronto)…
Many of the jars we purchase are either regular or wide mouth jars that we can use in the hot water bath or pressure canner. I carry the rings around in my pursue to make sure that they are the right size. Sometimes it can be deceiving. We also buy the older jars with glass tops when the price is right because they are excellent for storing grains, rice, herbs, candied peels and ginger, and your preserves that are full of liquor.
A big thanks to all my friends and family for saving jars for us…we really appreciate it!
Eat’n Up ~ Canned Tomato Sauce
Since Matt and I started canning last summer we’ve tried to put up as much of the foods we eat on a regular basis as possilbe…so that we can completely avoid buying those things from the grocery store. One of the things we both love is tomatoes and there are so many ways to preserve them. Whole tomatoes, sauce, chili sauce, stewed tomatoes (my personal favorite), salsa, jam, and the list goes on. Last year, we did 6 bushels of tomatoes and unfortunately ran out of stewed tomatoes and sauce before this season started. This year – 10 bushels!!! Okay, hopefully that will be enough but I have my doubts. Why!?! Well, because Matt now makes all of our bread and dough which makes homemade pizza a popular meal choice around here. All he needs is his wood stove…
Dinner the other night ~ Canned Tomato Sauce on Pizza with a cold draft beer
Round Mounds of Pizza Dough
Matt Starts to Shape the Dough
Throwing the Pizza Dough
Eat'n Up ~ Tomato Sauce on Pizza
Delicious
Dessert ~ Turnbull's Old Fashion Strawberry Jam with some Creme Fraiche
Canning Party continued…
Our canning party is over but the memories and the open jars in the fridge will last us a while. A variety of meals await us with a large selection of canned goods to sample from.
We’ve enjoyed several bowls of the oh so good, oh so famous Sweet Potato Soup made by Barry. This soup is so creamy and so good it is impossible to stop at just one bowl. Barry (like us) spends many, many months putting up a year’s supply of food. He concentrates on the vegetables grown on his own property as well as things he buys from local farmers’ markets or The Garden Basket in Markham. Barry makes the most delicious soups and happily shares his recipes with fellow canners. I’ve been fortunate to score many of his soup recipes and can’t wait to make them all!
RECIPE FOR BARRY’S SWEET POTATO SOUP:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 small onion
- 1 carrot chopped
- 1 celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- red wine vinegar (2:1 oil to vinegar)
- Peel and cube potatoes
- Toss with 1/2 each oil, salt, garlic, and sm. amount rosemary
- Add red wine vinegar
- Roast on baking sheet at 450F stirring until tender, about 20 minutes
- Heat remaining oil over medium-high heat, saute onion, carrot, garlic, rosemary, pepper, salt until softened; about 8 minutes
- Add broth, potatoes and bring to a boil
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer stirring occasionally for 20 minutes
- Let cool slightly then puree in blender
- Strain into clean pot and heat to boil
- Bottle with 1 inch headspace and process in pressure canner following the directions in accordance with your pressure canner or the National Centre for Food Preservation.
The other really fun thing that we did at our canning party was to ask everyone attending to bring enough recipe cards for everyone of their favorite canning recipe. This way we all had a brand new arsenal of recipes to try. Many people put a lot of time and effort into their 4″x6″ cards decorating them with photos and fancy cut outs. Here are just a few of them…
And, my friend Bonnie also made some recipe cards for you!! So please feel free to download and share these Putting Up With The Turnbulls recipe cards and hang tags with your family and friends. They make an excellent hostess gift for all of your canning pals.
As our party progressed many of us were too full to walk home…but luckily we are a smart and prepared bunch. Richard is the perfect example of a man who plans ahead and here he is happily getting a ride home.
Canning Party
Okay, can I say in a word ~ WOW! ~ The canning party was so much fun. Everyone came with the most deliciously beautiful jars of homemade goods and the lids were popped off before I even got a chance to take a photo. As our canners arrived they all got busy in the kitchen opening their jars and pouring the contents into bowls, on plates, and platters. MmmmMmmmDelicious!
I explained to everyone that at the end of the evening there was going to be a little contest to win some great prizes that were kindly donated by Bernardin. The contest winners would have their choice of the Bernardin Canning Kit or the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. But, “don’t worry guys…you are all canners and thus, all winners” so everyone goes home with a reusable Bernardin bag and their Home Guide to Preserving. Big Thanks to Bernardin! 
Matt and I also had t-shirts and recipe cards made for everyone. Thankfully, I have some very talented friends who were able to help me out with this project. While, I was able to draw the mason jar, my friend Bonnie successfully captured us in stick figure form. Notice…Matt is not wearing any pants. And, am I in a dress? Has that ever happened before?
This little contest “Iron Canning Canada” encouraged people to try everything…even if they didn’t think they’d like it. And, lots of people were surprised to realize that they did like beets or cranberries? Huh? The variety of differently canned items was awesome and people really did flex their canning muscles showing us that it is possible to turn tomatillos into the most tasty jam. Who knew?
Here are just a few pictures of the preserves prior to consumption…
Bonnie's Tomatillo Jam
Richard's Cranberry Maple Vinaigrette
Kathryn's Cranberry Relish
Barry's Sweet Potato Soup
Ben's Dilled Beans and Jenn's Chow Chow
Margo's Caramel Apple Butter
Scott's Old Fashion Strawberry Jam
Suzann's Tomatillo Salsa
As our canners ate their way through a gross amount of food I watched them all struggle to fill out the ballots…and choose just three people worthy of the titles Best Presentation, Most Delicious and Most Original. Everything was so wonderful that it made the decisions really tough. But, alas someone has to win.
And, our winners are…(drum roll please)
Suzann - Winner for Best Presentation with Tomatillo Salsa
Bonnie - Winner for Most Delicious with Tomatillo Jam
Sharon - Winner for Most Original with Beet Apple Chutney
But, the only person to be appointed the Queen of Canning was me! And, I walked away with this beautiful canning crown made by Kathryn and Brynn Kirbyson. Thanks girls…I love it!
I will post more later as I have tuns to share but I also have a kitchen of mess to clean up. Big thank you to all of you first time canners! I am so glad that everyone gave it a try.
In The Press
It’s the day of our big canning party and everyone in my house is really excited!!! Matt is busy making bread and my sister and I are doing some last-minute cleaning and decorating. I can’t wait to see what everyone brings…and of course, I can’t wait to taste it ALL.
Not only is this our first (of many) canning parties but we are also going to have our first “Iron Canning Canada” Challenge…Battle ~ EAT’N UP. Everyone gets to try all the different canned goods and then vote on them based on three things.
- Best Presentation
- Most Delicious
- Most Original
And, there are prizes to win…courtesy of Bernardin. I will post the results tomorrow.
Remember, a while back, Scott Turnbull was over taking photos of us putting up some apples for sauce and some carrots for dilled chips…well, the long anticipated wait is over. The November Issue of The Muskoka Magazine is out and we are in it! Isn’t that exciting!?! Scott Turnbull, of Turnbull Photography took the most beautiful photographs and the article ain’t too shabby either. Check it out…provided courtesy of Muskoka Magazine, November 2010.
Muskoka Magazine November 2010
Stay tuned for pics from our party…tomorrow!
Putting Up With The Turnbulls 