believe it or not, i have met a lot of chutneys i didn’t like.
but this isn’t one of them.
i was lucky enough to inherit a row of very healthy and vigorous rhubarb plants when M and i moved into our house in the berkshires. when i say healthy and vigorous, i mean it. i am not 100% sure what the heck a peck is, but i am pretty sure even peter piper would be tired of picking rhubarb already…
(he might just be inclined to get back to pickin’ pickled peppers at this point)
but anyway
i’m always on the lookout for all ways to use more rhubarb. usually i’m pretty much in a jam about it. (more on that later) ’cause when i say i have a lot of rhubarb…i mean,
i’ve been allotted a lotta rhubarb.
basically, i was looking for a chutney. because, well, i want to like chutneys. chutneys are cool & worldy. exotic even… expats on preserve.
as it were.
look the point is,
maybe i’m missing something, but fruit and garlic, together…
not my thing.
that’s why when i found this recipe in a much cited (in the secret world of pickles and jams that is) beautiful and hard to find book; the glass pantry
first of all, it’s sans garlic, second, it’s gingery, from fresh raw ginger, not of the candied variety. and best of all, it uses a lotta rhubarb!
all that said. it’s delicious!
gingery rhubarb chutney
adapted from the glass pantry
about 9 stalks of rhubarb (approximately 6 cups, sliced 1 inch thick)
3 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped or very thinly grated lemon zest
2 cinnamon sticks, 3 inches each
1 1/2 to 2 inch piece fresh ginger (depending on thickness) peeled & minced
1 1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
scant 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 pint mason or weck jars to make approximately 3 pints
1. prepare ingredients as above
2. combine brown sugar, cider vinegar and chopped lemon zest in a non-reactive pan. stir over low heat for 5 or 6 minutes, just until all the sugar dissolves.
3. add the sliced rhubarb, cinnamon sticks, and ginger.
4. raise the heat to medium-high and cook for another 15 or so minutes until all the rhubarb is soft.
5. add the raisins, salt and chopped walnuts and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.
you can stop here and enjoy…in that case i might suggest cutting the recipe in half as stored directly in the fridge it is at its best for 3 weeks.
6. or you can process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes.
which i highly recommend…c’mon do it! it’s fun!
and you can keep them in a cool dark place for a year. everything you need to know to can is here.
and here’s one more tidbit of info: whenever you have a smaller recipe that you are canning but your canning pot is BIG, you want to make sure that you have enough jars in there so that your full jars don’t bounce around – in other words, a full pot-o’-jars. so just leave the jars you don’t use in the pot filled with water.
like this:
ok one last tidbit then i gotta go-
please, please, please do this for me:
1. take a fat piece of bread
2. and a big hunk of sharp farmhouse cheddar
3. and a huge dollop of rhubarb chutney
and thank me in the morning.
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Wow, that sound SO good!!!!!! I am saving this
Hi Tigress,
Your last tidbit about pairing this delicious sounding chutney with the bread and the cheese has convinced me to try it! Thanks for all of your inspiring recipes!
i’m SO happy you’re doing this tigress, i’m seriously going to try every single one of these recipes. i know how amazing they all are, i’ve been lucky enough to try the actual results. when am i coming over to do some gardening? you have to put the beet pickle up. i’m dribbling over my keyboard.
jennifer – it IS good. let me know how it turns out if you get a chance to try it.
skye – thanks! i am glad you are giving it a try!
goli – you better come over and garden, after we hear some beats in detroit, we shoud pickle some beets in mass.
mmm I’ll try this, I love chutneys
Wow, I am so trying this one!I too have been blessed with an abundance of rhubarb and am looking for ways to get rid of it, lol.I have a batch of rhubarb champagne on the go already, tomorrow is rhubarb and coconut cake and this yummy chutney, thanks tigress
fudge fairy – welcome! so great that you have so much rhubarb! where are you writing from? i won't be seeing mine popping out of the ground until may. …but i do have some saved up in the freezer from last season!
Just found your site and am so excited to find another idea about how to use all my rhubarb. My husband and I have been looking at making some jelly/jam out of it, but just not sure it will get eaten up. These flavors sound so interesting together!
Just found your site and am so excited to find another idea about how to use all my rhubarb. My husband and I have been looking at making some jelly/jam out of it, but just not sure it will get eaten up. These flavors sound so interesting together!
hey tigress! Is the longer processing time on this because of the nuts and raisins? i've got my eye on this chutney!
autumn – you know, I found this recipe two years ago and didn't question the processing time. but it does seem rather long considering the ingredients. you could check the ball book to see if there is a comparable recipe and check processing time there. however, unlike jam, I don't think this chutney's flavor or texture suffers from the longer processing so you may just want to go for the 30 minutes.
interesting! here's what i found: the chutneys and conserves in the ball book have a shorter processing time, but there's a grape walnut conserve in well preserved that has a 30 minute processing time. i'll definitely go w/ the 30!