Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Cranberry Orange Chutney


The recipe for this chutney comes from The Complete Book of Canning published by...Ortho. Yes, that Ortho. It is from 1982, and some of the "people" photographs are priceless. I of course looked far less stupid in 1982. You probably did too...but we weren't featured in an Ortho cookbook, were we now?

I bought a ton of cranberries after Thanksgiving when they were on sale, and had them in the freezer ready for just this sort of use. Oranges were on sale last week-here is the obvious result. This is a lovely chutney, though a bit sweet for my taste (and I like sweets). I substituted very finely shredded fresh ginger for the crystalised which was probably a good thing given the sugar level of this. Do as you like.

6 medium oranges
1 pound cranberries
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped crystalised ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I had Madras)
3/4 cup raisins

Remove outer peel from oranges and slice into thin strips to toatl 1/4 cup (I used kitchen shears to make light work of this). From four of the oranges, remove the rind and pith and slice oranges into 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut in quarters. remove any seeds. With remaining oranges, extract juice to total 1/2 cup.

Combine orange peel, and everything else EXCEPT orange segments, in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Cook until cranberries pop. Remove from heat, remove cinnamon stick and garlic clove. Stir in orange segments.

Pack hot chutney into hot, sterilised jars and leave 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth and cover with a heated lid. Adjust screw bands and process 10 minutes (adjusting for altitude) in a boiling water canner. Kill the heat, remove canner lid and let jars cool down 5 minutes longer before removing to a heat-proof surface. Check for seals after 12-24 hours. Make 6 half pint jars.

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