Make chutney or chow to relish garden’s last glory

Published 1:53 pm Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Over the last week I’ve encountered a lot of folks who want to talk about their autumn cooking activities.

One of the recurring themes was the idea of getting together with a couple of other friends and making relishes and chutneys.

With that in mind, I thought I’d inspire even more cooks who would like to capture the harvest before it’s gone.

Even though any single fruit or vegetable may not amount to a significant batch of anything, when combined with other waning produce … you’ve got relish and chutney.

Relishes and chutneys are forgiving. As long as they’ve got a nice balance of vinegar, salt and sugar, the end product is bound to be interesting and useful as a condiment in your kitchen.

A few points to consider:

Preserving: If you don’t have enough refrigerator space to keep your homemade relishes and chutneys chilled, then you’ll have to process the filled and sealed jars in a boiling-water canner to make them safe to store at room temperature.

To stay safe, don’t reduce the processing times in the boiling water canner. Relishes and chutneys are fairly dense and require the entire processing time called for in a given recipe for thorough heat penetration.

Acid up: Additionally (if you’re planning to store your prepared chutneys and relishes at room temperature), don’t reduce the amount of vinegar your recipe calls for.

Remember, you’re combining low-acid foods such as onions, peppers and corn, with high-acid foods, including tomatoes, fruit and vinegar, with the ultimate goal of creating a condiment high enough in acid that it doesn’t have to be processed in a pressure canner.

So don’t add extra amounts of (low-acid) vegetables or water, or reduce the amount of vinegar called for in a recipe. You would most likely end up with a relish or chutney that’s no longer safe to process by the boiling-water bath method.

If you want to make the relish or chutney less tangy, add sugar.

Chill out: On the other hand, if you’ve got the refrigerator space, chutneys and relishes will maintain fabulous quality in the fridge for months and months and months.

Because of my British heritage, I grew up with chutneys. Even the men in our family can turn out a primo batch of the house brand, McMillan chutney — and have been known to present vast amounts of it to all of those who are lucky enough to be on their gift list.

The recipe for this one has been passed down from my Great Aunt Joey who brought it back from India in the early 1900s.

I’ve shared it with readers in the past, but not for several years, so will add it to the collection today because it really, truly, is very good.

Amongst the McMillan clan, it’s expected to be served with prime rib, roast beef or scrambled eggs.

Beyond that, we’ve also discovered its charm alongside a grilled pork tenderloin, grilled halibut and roast chicken.

McMillan chutney

15 large, ripe tomatoes

3large pears

3large peaches

3large green apples

2large onions

1cup cider vinegar

2cups granulated sugar

1tablespoon salt

1/3cup of Schilling whole mixed pickling spice (or another pickling spice mix that contains chilies or pepper flakes)

Peel and chop tomatoes, pears, peaches, apples and onions. In a large pot combine the chopped fruit and onion; add the vinegar, sugar and salt. Tie the pickling spices in a double thickness of cheesecloth or clean handkerchief and then add to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

After the chutney has boiled for 30 minutes, lift out the pouch of spices, squeeze it against the side of the pan to release more seasonings into the liquid, return it to the pot, and continue simmering until the mixture thickens (about 30 or 40 more minutes), stirring often to keep the bottom from scorching.

Remove the spice pouch, squeeze all the liquid out from the swollen pouch of pickling spices, and ladle the chutney into clean containers.

The chutney can be stored in the refrigerator for several months, or even longer in the pantry at room temperature if processed in a boiling water canner. See directions below:

For long term storage at room temperature: First, wash seven pint jars; keep them hot until needed and prepare canning lids as manufacturer directs. Ladle the hot chutney into a hot jar one at a time, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Attach lid. Wipe rim with a clean damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling water canner for the required amount of time for your elevation (10 minutes at 0 to 1,000 feet; 15 minutes from 1,000 feet to 6,000 feet); 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).

Makes 7 pints.

Corvallis-area pal Rich Brainerd shared his family recipe with me years ago.

It’s really delicious!

According to Rich, the recipe is supposed to have originated with a chef in Boston’s Copley Plaza.

It was given to an architect friend of the chef, then passed from one architect to another. (“Architects seem to be particularly fond of good food,” Rich mused.)

In the mid-1930s, it reached the late William H. Brainerd. Since then, Copley Plaza chow has become an established tradition in the Brainerd family.

Copley Plaza chow

5 1/2pounds (about 4 quarts) green tomatoes

4 1/2pounds red tomatoes

3 1/2pounds sweet peppers

2-3pounds hot peppers

2 1/2pounds onions

2cups salt

9cups loosely packed dark brown sugar

2 1/2quarts cider vinegar

5tablespoons whole allspice (not “pickling spice”)

Stem cores from tomatoes; remove seeds and stems from peppers. Put all the vegetables through a food chopper with the coarsest cutter (Note: A food processor also works, but don’t over-process). Add the salt and let stand overnight. Rinse and drain thoroughly.

Wash 13 pint-size jars. Keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.

Put sugar and vinegar into a large non-aluminum pot and bring to a boil. Tie allspice into double thickness of cheesecloth and place into syrup. Add drained vegetables and cook about an hour, or until the relish has thickened), stirring more frequently as it thickens to avoid scorching. Remove the allspice bag.

Ladle the relish into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).

Makes 12 to 13 pints.

Brainerd family notes: The chow is a rich dark color, highly flavored and intermediate between hot and sweet. Since different varieties of hot peppers and growing conditions of different seasons (and regions of the country) affect the heat of hot peppers, some judgment is needed.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.